I'll Cover You
by tapdancinghippo
Summary: After successfully avoiding each other in New York for 3 years, Quinn and Rachel reunite under strange, yet entertaining, circumstances. First time writing a fan fic. Be kind. :D College!Faberry fic. TEMPORARY HIATUS.
1. You and I Will Meet Again

You and I Will Meet Again

_You and I will meet again  
>When we're least expecting it<br>One day in some far off place  
>I will recognize your face<em>

Tom Petty, "You and I Will Meet Again

This was it. This was her time to shine. Quinn Fabray stepped up the stairs on the side of the stage and looked out into the crowd. The dimly lit room made it hard for her to see the faces in the audience, but she knew there were people out there who knew who she was and some who didn't. As Quinn grabbed the microphone stand with her left hand, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves.

She finally opened her eyes and said, "Next up, we have Danny Hatch and the Hatchbacks. Give them a round of applause."

Quinn sighed internally at the terrible band name, but she kept it to herself as she walked back behind the bar.

A voice came from behind her, "Heeeeey, pretty lady, could I get a rum and Coke?"

She turned and groaned. It was Ralph Lidcolme, the son of a wealthy businessman and self-proclaimed mama's boy. He and Quinn had gone out on a couple of dates the previous month and hadn't left her alone since then. Every night, he came into the bar to order a rum and Coke and waited until Quinn got off work, so she could blow him off yet again.

"When are we gonna go out again?" Ralph asked while sipping his rum and Coke that Quinn really wanted to spit in before serving it.

"Ralph, I keep telling you that I'm way too busy to date someone right now. We're not going out again."

"Oh, come on! We had fun, didn't we? … didn't we?" Ralph whined.

Quinn rolled her eyes and tried to look for another patron to serve. Ralph pouted and wandered off to sit with some friends who only used him for his money. Quinn had worked at the Nightingale Lounge for the past year, trying to save up money so she could pay for both tuition and rent. Food was optional. The financial aid she received only paid for part of her tuition, and without any help from her parents, she didn't have many options. She considered using Ralph for his money, but the thought of seeing his greasy hair and soul patch everyday made her die a little inside. She decided it would be a better idea to just concentrate on her studies and get her degree in Journalism as soon as possible. As Quinn wiped off the bar, she heard Danny Hatch singing his rendition of Journey's "Faithfully" and it brought back a flood of emotions. She thought she had escaped Lima, Ohio and all of the memories that were made there – the glee club, the Cheerios, the failed relationships, Rachel Berry.

_Wondering where I am lost without you_

_And being apart ain't easy on this love affair_

_Two strangers learn to fall in love again_

_I get the joy of rediscovering you_

While the song continued playing, Quinn stood silently at the bar and listened to Danny sing and she felt a tear stream down her face. She did miss the people she left behind in Lima, but she knew she had to get out of there. Once Finn Hudson had broken up with her a second time for Rachel Berry, her shame was too much to bear. People began talking behind her back more than usual, she got stares down the school corridors. It was almost as if she were pregnant again. Quinn remained in the glee club, but slowly began cutting herself off from the rest of the group. By the time graduation came, she had already been packed and ready to go to New York University, but the campus wouldn't allow students to move into the dorms until two weeks before classes began in August.

Quinn heard her coworker Brandon call her name and shook her out of her daze. She looked over at him and he motioned towards all of the customers standing at the bar, waiting to be served.

"Sorry about that," she said, as she reached down to grab another glass and poured a drink for the next customer.

"You okay?" asked Brandon.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about high school," answered Quinn.

"Oh, ew, why would you want to do something like that?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly by choice. The song the band is singing reminded me of being in glee club," Quinn said as she realized she probably shouldn't have mentioned glee.

"Glee club, eh? Sounds like fun. I didn't know you could sing," Brandon said with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe you should perform at one of these open mics!"

"Ooooh no. No no no no no. That's a part of my high school days that I don't want to revisit."

"No, seriously! We can find you a supporting band. I could play bass for you! It'll be so much fun."

Quinn caught herself thinking about what song she could sing, but snapped herself out of it. "I don't know. I'll think about it."

"Great! I'll sign you up for next Tuesday just to be safe. The sign-up sheet gets filled pretty fast."

Before Quinn could protest, Brandon went into the back office to find next week's sign-up sheet. _What have I just gotten myself into? The last time I sang, it was with… her._

April 13, 2012

It was a couple months before their graduation day and the senior glee club members got to perform a song at the ceremony. The kids decided on "The Edge of Glory" by Lady Gaga, so they spent a few weeks practicing. Rachel said it would showcase her voice perfectly and everyone else could dance around in the background. They also wanted to sing "Don't Stop Believing" for old time's sake and dedicate it to Mr. Schue. Naturally, Rachel would steal the show, but this time no one cared. They were just happy to be graduating, especially Quinn. Most of the glee kids were going their separate ways. Finn got a football scholarship for Ohio State, Puck was going to take a year off and work on his pool cleaning business, and, surprise surprise, Rachel got into Juilliard. The rest were going to various universities and community colleges that Quinn couldn't remember and honestly didn't care about. All she knew was she was getting out of Lima. She knew there would be a slight chance she would see Rachel again since they were both going to be in New York, but she was hoping that she would be able to avoid the diva in such a big city.

The glee club had a get together at Rachel's house one day after school. Her dads allowed her to have the house to herself for a few hours. They all sat around and reminisced about the last four years of their lives with one another.

"Remember the last time we had a party here? Rachel and Blaine made out with each other during spin the bottle," exclaimed Mercedes.

"Yeah, then they sang that horrendous duet," Santana added.

"I think she said the wine cooler tasted like pink, too," said Finn as he chuckled.

"I thought bunny peeps were the only things that tasted like pink," said Brittany, and everyone laughed - everyone, but Quinn.

"I don't mean to cut off your Rachel Berry blooper reel, but I think I'm going to head home," said Quinn as she headed towards the door.

Rachel followed behind her and asked, "Are you okay? You've been really distant the past year. I know we're not really friends, but –"

Quinn cut her off as all of things she had wanted to say to Rachel boiled over into this one moment. "You're right, we're not friends. We've never _been_ friends. Finn left me for you only to have you break up with him when you got accepted to Juilliard that your dads are paying for. I've had nothing this past year and, as usual, you've gotten everything you've ever wanted. So, don't come waltzing up to me acting like you care. You're going to go become some famous Broadway actress and pretend none of us ever existed, so what's the point of asking if I'm okay?"

"I-I'm sorry, Quinn. I never wanted you to get hurt," Rachel said meekly.

"Save it, Rachel. I really hope we don't see each other in New York, because I'm afraid I'll lose control of my body. My hands seem to be magnetically attracted to your neck."

Quinn left, slamming the door in Rachel's face, and that was the last time she talked to any of the glee kids. Finn and Santana had tried calling her, but Quinn refused to answer. She wanted to cut all of her ties with McKinley High School and she had successfully not thought about glee club or Rachel Berry, until that night.

"_Great,"_ Quinn thought to herself. _"What song am I supposed to sing? Wait, I don't even want to sing! This is crazy, I -"_

A voice interrupted her inner monologue. "Hey, Quinn! Are you out soon?"

"Ralph, seriously, not going to happen. Go home."

"Aw, come on, can't we at least go out for a coffee?"

Quinn did everything she could to resist throwing a cup at Ralph's thick head. Instead, she just ignored him and went into the storage room to get more bottles of alcohol to replace the ones that were running low. As she was gathering the bottles, she heard a familiar voice at the microphone. It almost sounded like - no, it couldn't be. She peeked out of the storage room and nearly dropped every bottle she held in her arms.

"How's everyone doing tonight," the familiar voice asked the audience. "Thanks for letting me crash your open mic. I've been meaning to come here for weeks to showcase my talent for all of you."

"Give a warm welcome to our future Broadway starlet, Rachel Berry!" said Brandon as he clapped behind a spare microphone with his bass guitar strapped around his shoulder.

The sound of the applause hid the sound of rum and whiskey bottles crashing onto the floor.


	2. The Way We Were

The Way We Were

_Scattered pictures  
>Of the smiles we left behind<br>Smiles we gave to one another  
>For the way we were<em>

-Barbra Streisand, "The Way We Were"

The second Quinn heard Rachel's name through the microphone, she lost grip of every bottle she held in her arms. It was like slow motion, watching them fall to the floor and shattering, the alcohol slithering across the floor.

"Damn it!" Quinn yelled. She ducked back into the storage room to grab the mop and bucket. As she started mopping, Quinn kept her back towards the stage, praying that Rachel didn't see her. "The Way We Were" was being sung in the background and she could hear Brandon's bass.

_"Typical,"_ Quinn thought to herself. There was Rachel, diva-ing it up on stage, showing off her always perfect voice. Quinn caught herself listening to Rachel sing and letting it take over her, much like it did in high school. Of course, she would never admit that she enjoyed listening to Rachel Berry sing. If Quinn were a masochistic person, she would have bounded out of the storage room and joined Rachel on stage for a duet, but she felt wasn't appropriate, considering she basically shunned Rachel and the rest of the glee club by the end of her high school year. She didn't quite forgive Rachel for taking Finn away multiple times; or having 99% of the solos in glee; or costing her prom queen.

As Rachel finished her song, Quinn overheard Brandon invite her to the next open mic.

"I would love to come by again! I take requests as well," Rachel said with an overachieving grin across her face. "Start thinking now. You can e-mail your requests to rberry at goldstar dot com. "

"Get your requests in quick, everyone! Let's give Ms. Berry another round of applause," said Brandon as he began escorting Rachel down the stairs. "I want to introduce you to my coworker, Qui – where did she go?"

"Oh, that's okay. I can meet all of your coworkers when I come in next week. Thanks again for letting me steal the show! I'll see you later!"

"See you on Tuesday!" replied Brandon as he looked around for Quinn. He finally found her crouched behind the bar. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Huh? Oh, I dropped my contact," Quinn replied as she pretended to look for her contact on the floor.

"Quinn, you don't wear contacts. I wanted to introduce you to Rachel Berry. She said she was from Lima, Ohio. Isn't that where you came from?"

"Uh… yeah. We kind of went to the same high school," Quinn said as she looked to the side and bit the corner of her lip.

"Whoa! Why didn't you say something? Didn't you want to talk to her?"

"Not really. I've spent the past three years trying to forget high school and Rachel Berry."

"Ooo, this sounds like a fascinating story. Let me go get the popcorn and you can tell me all about it!" Brandon joked as Quinn elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! Come on, I've told you about all the embarrassing things I've done in high school."

"Putting saran wrap on the boys' toilets and skipping class to smoke weed with your aunt Mildred hardly counts," Quinn said as she smirked at Brandon.  
>"Ouch! You wound me, Fabray. Okay, how about this, if you don't tell me why you don't want to talk to Rachel, I'm just going to roster you so that you perform after her at next week's open mic."<p>

"Then I won't sing!"

"Then you get your hours cut!"

"You wouldn't dare," said Quinn, narrowing her eyes.

"Try me," Brandon said grinning and looking rather smug.

"You are a horrible dictator, Brandon Jacobs."

"Why, thank you! That's how you run a successful bar."

Quinn sighed and weighed her options. She really didn't want to tell Brandon everything that had happened in high school, but she didn't want to sing with Rachel, either. No matter what she chose to do, she would have to face her past one way or another.

_I guess singing with Rachel would be the lesser of two evils. I'll just sing the one song and it'll be over! She probably won't even want to come back to the bar after seeing me again. It'll be so awkward for the both of us that maybe she won't even be able to finish the song. Yes. This is the best idea I have ever had; way better than convincing Sam that I saved Finn from choking on a gumball. Those boys were really gullible._

"Fine. I will sing ONE song and one song only," Quinn relented.

"Fantastic. I'll roster the both of you as the closing act. Let me know what song you're going to sing, so we can practice."

"Remind me again why I put up with you?" Quinn asked.

"Clearly, you can't resist my boyish charm and amazing good looks," Brandon answered with a chuckle.

"Oh, I'm sure your girlfriend would love to know that."

"She would! It would remind her why she puts up with me, too."

They both laughed and continued cleaning the mess Quinn made when she saw Rachel on stage. She wouldn't admit it, but seeing Rachel sing again gave her goosebumps up and down her arms. It was almost time for her to go home and she couldn't wait. Quinn had been working as much as she could once she had come to the realization that she would need to find another source of income if she wanted to continue going to school, have a roof over her head, and eat once in a while. Working at the bar was helping, but once her financial aid ran out, she would be in trouble. Brandon already offered Quinn his couch, but she didn't want to intrude. She needed a roommate, preferably a single roommate, so she didn't get woken up by people drunkenly ravishing each other at 3am.

"All right, I'm going to close up shop after this last call. You can go ahead and head home."

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Boss," Quinn said as she whipped her bag across her hip.

As she headed out the door, she heard Brandon yell, "Think of a song!" Quinn turned around, smiled as she gave Brandon the one-finger salute, and left the bar.


	3. Scratch

Scratch

_I'd like to know if you'd be open  
>To starting over from scratch<br>I'd like to know if you'd be open  
>To giving me a second chance<em>

-Kendall Payne, "Scratch"

When Quinn woke up from her five hours of broken sleep, she threw her screeching alarm at her dresser. She knocked over a picture frame and it tumbled to the floor. Quinn stumbled out of bed and picked up the picture frame. It was a group picture of the glee club; they were in their prom dresses and suits, making goofy faces at one another. Looking at the picture made Quinn think about what happened near the end of that school year.

* * *

><p>It was senior year of high school. Quinn was desperately searching for a date for prom, but everyone who was worthy of being prom king was taken. Even Jacob Ben Israel had a date. Rachel and Finn were going together, Kurt was bringing Blaine, Santana and Brittany decided to go together, but if you asked Santana, she would swear on her Latina mother's grave that Brittany went with Lord Tubbington and was only there to make sure Brittany didn't try to feed him spiked punch.<p>

The only one left without a date was Puck. Lauren Zizes had gotten tired of his boisterous advances and dumped him a few weeks before prom. The thought of crawling back to Noah Puckerman disgusted Quinn, but she had no other options. As hard as she tried to cut the glee club members out of her life, she had no other friends. Going with one of the Neanderthals on the football team was out, as well. She knew all they would do is try to get lucky at the end of the night. It was either go to prom by herself and she could forget about being prom queen or she could go with Puck and have a sliver of a chance at winning. He did remind her of her past mistakes, but they were going as friends, nothing more.

She had spent the past two months campaigning herself as she did the previous years, but this year was different. Seeing Rachel and Finn walking throughout the school together, hand in hand, made her want to be prom queen even more. She wanted to prove to them and everyone else that she didn't need a trophy boyfriend to succeed. As much as Quinn thought she needed one the previous years, she realized that they wouldn't mean anything in a few months.

Quinn would be escaping Lima and going to college in New York. More than anything, she would be escaping the high school drama and the heartbreak. There would be college boys to pursue and parties to attend. She would be able to rebuild her reputation where no one knew her past.

Before going to prom, which was being held at the school gym… again, Quinn and Puck shared a completely platonic meal at Breadstix. When they arrived at the gym, the rest of the glee club was already there. Mike Chang was dancing near the stage with Tina, Artie, and Mercedes cheering him on. Santana and Brittany were near the punchbowl, most likely fighting over whether or not they should give some to Lord Tubbington. To this day, Quinn still had no idea how Brittany snuck Lord Tubbington into the gym.

"Want something to drink? I brought a little extra," Puck said as he sneakily pulled a silver flask out of his coat pocket.

"Um, no thanks. I'd like to actually make it home tonight and remember how I got there," Quinn glared.

"Suit yourself. Punch, then?"

"Sure, fine, whatever," Quinn said in her most apathetic voice.

"Geez, don't have too much fun here. Remember I'm doing YOU a favor by being your date. You think you could have had a better chance at winning prom queen by coming with someone like Olaf Olsen?"

Olaf Olsen was an exchange student from Sweden. He wore cardigan sweaters, tube socks, and Birkenstocks no matter what season it was. His thick lensed glasses would constantly fall down the bridge of his nose and the amount of phlegm this boy produced was uncanny. Quinn knew Puck was right. He was her best chance at becoming prom queen.

"Sorry," Quinn apologized. "I'll at least pretend to have fun."

"Cool. I'll go get the punch."

Puck walked over to the punch bowl and started talking to Santana and Brittany. Quinn looked around until she saw Finn and Rachel and ducked behind one of the balloon displays. They looked so happy and it broke her heart. It made her wonder what she was doing there. She felt an overwhelming urge to both laugh and cry at her situation. What happened to Quinn Fabray: Head Cheerio, girlfriend of Finn Hudson? How did she get here? Thinking about everything brought a flood of tears to her eyes. She choked back sobs as she raced to the girls' restroom. Quinn sat herself down in one of the stalls and wiped away the tears with a few squares of toilet paper and tried not to make any noise in case someone walked in.

A voice came from outside of the stall, "Quinn?"

Quinn held her breath and tried not to move.

"Quinn, are you okay?" The sound was reverberating on the bathroom stall door.

The voice sounded familiar. It was soft and delicate, yet confident. There was a hint of compassion, or maybe it was sadness, behind the words.

"I'm fine," Quinn was finally able to squeak out. She dabbed her eyes with the toilet paper and opened the door.

When Quinn opened the door, it surprised her to find Rachel standing there. She was wearing a silver strapless dress with intricate beadwork around the sides. It hugged her hips and had flowed seamlessly all the way down to the floor. Quinn found herself breathless at the sight of Rachel in front of her.

"You don't look okay," Rachel said as she handed Quinn a paper towel from the dispenser on the wall.

"Thanks," Quinn said as she wiped away remnants of tears on her cheeks. "No really, I'm fine. It's just this pressure of being this year's prom queen that's getting to me."

"You haven't been crowned yet," Rachel said with a slight smile and looked at the floor. "It's kind of funny that we're both here in the bathroom again this year."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to slap you this time."

"Oh, good. My cheek is hurting just thinking about it."

Both girls giggled and stood in the restroom, staring at the walls and floor for a few seconds before Rachel broke the silence.

"I admire you, you know."

Quinn looked up at Rachel, confused. She wasn't sure what to say to that. No one had ever said that they admired her. Many people had said they were jealous of her before, but never admired.

"You've gone through so much the past few years and you're always so confident. I know we haven't spoken much since the party at my house. I just wanted to let you know that I would like us to be friends. It doesn't have to be now, but maybe after we've settled in at college, or something. We won't know anyone in New York, but it would be nice to have one friend there, you know?"

Quinn panicked. Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray… friends? The whole point of her going to New York was to forget about McKinley High and everyone in it. Rachel did have a point, though. It would be nice to know someone there.

"_No! What are you thinking? Being Rachel's friend in New York will defeat the whole purpose of going to New York. Come up with an excuse, Fabray, and come up with it quick," _Quinn thought to herself.

"Um, I don't think that's such a good idea, Rachel."

"Why not? We could go to auditions together where I audition and get the parts and you'll be there for motivation and moral support."

Again, Quinn panicked. She could not think of a legitimate reason not to be friends with Rachel when they went off to college. Sure, she was a handful and stole her boyfriend twice, but she wasn't a horrible person. In fact, she could be quite pleasant when she wasn't being bossy or overbearing. It was kind of cute the way she still put gold stars next to her name and wore those knitted sweaters with animals on them. She smelled nice, too.

_Wait a minute. Why do I know what Rachel smells like? Oh, Lord… I think I have feelings for Rachel Berry._

"We just can't be friends, okay?

"But why?"

"I can't deal with this right now, Rachel. I can't," Quinn blurted out as she raced out of the restroom.

Rachel stood there where Quinn had left her, not quite understanding what just happened. She pinched herself in case she was dreaming. Part of her wanted to run after Quinn and ask her what she was meant, but the other part of her was afraid to find out.

She stared at herself in the mirror and collected her thoughts. When she was ready, she left the restroom and walked out into the gym. As Rachel walked out, she looked around for Finn and saw him near the stage. There was music playing and a recognizable voice singing:

_And, oh my, nothing else could've been done  
>She made her life a lie<br>So she might never have to know anyone  
>Made her life the lie you know<em>

"What is Quinn doing?" Rachel asked Finn.

"Sounds like she's singing Elliott Smith," Finn replied. "I thought you had fallen down the rabbit hole or had taken the red pill, or something. I was about to send a rescue team after you."

"I was just powdering my nose. Have you spoken to Quinn at all?"

"No, not recently. She's been so closed off lately; I've just been giving her room, especially after the party. "

"Yeah, I ran into in the bathroom, but she didn't say much. Did you know that we're both going to college in New York?"

"Yes, Rachel. You remind me almost every day that you're moving to New York in two months, fourteen days, and… " Finn looked at his watch, "… seven hours. I ran into Quinn's parents a few weeks ago and they told me she was going to NYU."

_What I used to be will pass away and then you'll see_

"Oh," Rachel grinned sheepishly. "Well, I tried to tell her that I'd like us to be friends."

"How did that go?"

Rachel paused. She didn't want to tell Finn what Quinn had actually said. It would just confuse him and Rachel still wasn't quite sure if she really heard what she thought she heard.

"She gave me the verbal equivalent of a slap in the face. I don't think she's forgiven me for being with you."

_That all I want now is happiness for you and me_

"Just give her time. Maybe she'll come around after she's settled in in New York."

"Maybe. I even offered to let her accompany me to my auditions. She would be crazy not to accept!"

Finn was about to say something about how absurd that sounded, but Principal Figgins stepped up to the microphone to monotonously announce prom king and queen.

"Hello, boys and girls. It's another prom night and I hope none of you are planning on engaging in after party shenanigans. I don't want to have to deal with hundreds of angry parent calls on Monday. I'm still dealing with the calls about the ferret infestation."

The kids in the gym stared silently.

"It's time to announce prom king and queen. Please don't start a riot if the results are not what you hoped they would be."

Quinn walked over to Puck and watched Rachel cuddle up closely to Finn. She could feel the blood rush to her face and clenched her fists. This scared her. Quinn didn't understand why she felt this jealousy so suddenly. Perhaps it was because she had inadvertently confessed something to Rachel that Quinn wasn't even aware of until that night, or maybe it was just because she knew they were in the running for prom king and queen.

"This year's prom king is… Lord Tubbington?"

"How did that even happen? No one knew you were bringing him," Santana asked Brittany as she cocked her head to the right.

"Lord Tubbington has been working on his mind control. I think he made me start eating my pencil erasers" Brittany answered.

Everyone looked towards Brittany and her obese feline. Brittany skipped up to the stage to let Lord Tubbington collect his crown.

"Congratulations, Lord Tubbington." Principal Figgins said as he switched to the next cue card. "And this year's prom queen is Rachel Berry. Congratulations."

The entire gym erupted in applause and Rachel looked stunned. No campaigning had been done, so this was a complete surprise. She credited it to her outstanding performance of Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" at the school talent show. Rachel knew she had nailed it, not that there had been any doubt that she wouldn't. Still, she was excited that her talent was finally recognized by the entire senior class.

"You've got to be kidding me," Quinn said in disbelief as she pulled Puck towards the exit. "We're going home."

"But I haven't spiked the punch yet! Coach Sylvester is monitoring it like a hawk."

Quinn ignored him and pulled him out the door. Puck drove his date home. When they got there, he walked her to her doorstep, gave Quinn a peck on the cheek and went home. Quinn walked up to her room. Her mom said something to her, but she wasn't listening. As she walked up the stairs, her hand grazed the stair banister, and she plopped onto her bed. She was too tired and drained to cry.

_"I lost prom queen to Rachel. Rachel FREAKING Berry," _Quinn thought to herself. She did admit that Rachel had gotten a lot more popular, and significantly more attractive, their senior year since she stopped wearing headbands and pants suits, but she was still Rachel. The more she thought about it, the more it enraged her. This was supposed to be _her_ year. She had worked hard to get back on top without a boyfriend by her side. She had gone months without a slushie to the face, had a couple solos in glee club, her grades were good, and she had gotten into NYU – all without Finn, Puck, or anyone else. Quinn was about to get out of her prom dress when there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Quinnie? Your friend from glee club is here," called her mother through the door.

"_What did Puck forget now?"_ Quinn wondered.

Quinn opened the door and standing in front of her was Rachel. She was holding the prom queen tiara in her hands.

"Hi," Rachel said meekly. "I brought this for you," she said as she held out the tiara to Quinn. "I know you've been working so hard to get one and I don't deserve it."

"But no one voted for me," Quinn answered sadly.

"I did," Rachel said as she laid the tiara on Quinn's head. "There, a crown fit for a real queen."

Quinn smiled, slightly embarrassed, but validated at the same time.

"Thanks, Rach," Quinn said beaming.

Rachel grinned and said, "I'm going to hug you now," and hugged Quinn tightly. "Oh, and about what you said in the bathroom, I-"

Quinn cut her off. "Temporary insanity. I was just really stressed about prom king and queen. Forget I said anything."

"Oh, okay," Rachel said with a look of slight disappointment. "Anyway, I should head home. Finn's waiting for me in the car. I'll see you on Monday?"

"Yeah, sure," said Quinn. "Thank you for the crown."

"You're welcome," Rachel smiled her famous Berry smile and left Quinn's room. Quinn sat on her bed and sighed. She knew it wasn't stress that made her say those things in the bathroom, but those types of feelings had no place being out in the open. They should be bottled up and hidden in a safe place so they didn't harm anyone, and that's where they remained for the next two and a half years.


	4. Cannonball

Hey, everyone! I just wanted to thank you all for reading and following this story. It's my first fan fiction and I notice myself making a lot of tiny errors, but I'm learning! Hope you're enjoying the story so far. If you have any technical suggestions or even suggestions for the plot, let me know and I'll definitely take it into consideration. I appreciate the positive comments as well. They're definitely keeping me motivated. :)

* * *

><p>Cannonball<p>

_There's still a little bit of your song  
>In my ear<br>There's still a little bit of your words  
>I long to hear<br>You step a little closer to me  
>So close that I can't see what's going on<em>

Damien Rice, "Cannonball"

It was 6:00 am, but Rachel had already been awake for ten minutes, watching the time tick until the alarm was ready to go off. Once the alarm buzzed, Rachel shot up and brushed her teeth, made her morning smoothie, and hopped on the elliptical. Her dads had specifically found an apartment big enough to fit the machine as well as a trophy room. After her rigorous exercise regime, Rachel hopped in the shower and got ready for class. Today was Music History and Ear Training, not that Rachel really needed ear training. Hers were perfect.

With her morning routine, Rachel gave herself fifteen minutes to read her e-mails. She had been getting new song requests for that week's open mic daily. She had listed so many potential songs on a note pad next to her keyboard. There were Broadway songs, contemporary songs, classics - you name it. One of the e-mails Rachel received was from Brandon. He said that he had set up a duet with his co-worker and he'd be playing bass for them. She enjoyed having this little project. It took off the pressure from Juilliard. A knock came at the door.

Rachel hopped out of her chair and opened it.

"Hey babe, ready to go to class?"

It was Henry Robbins, Rachel's boyfriend. The two had been seeing each other for about a year now. They met at one of the campus parties held by a mutual friend. Henry reminded Rachel of Jesse St. James without the ego and manipulative personality. Rachel thought that she and Henry fit together quite perfectly - like Sonny and Cher, Glinda and Elphaba, Bert and Ernie…

He met Rachel at her apartment every morning so they could walk to campus together. Naturally, college boys were so different from the high school crushes Rachel had. Rachel enjoyed having a boyfriend she could lean on and who supported her no matter what. He didn't even mind escorting her to Broadway shows every month, so she could soak up the talent and motivate herself to continue striving for her dreams.

"Isn't your open mic tonight?" Henry inquired as they walked towards the classroom.

"Yes, it is. I've been reading the requests people have been sending in. I think I have an idea of what song I can sing that will impress the pants off even the sourest of sourpusses."

Henry chuckled. He loved how Rachel still used such elementary terms.

"What about the duet the guy said you were doing? Any idea what that's all about? You don't even get to practice with the other person."

Rachel put her hands in her jacket pockets and skipped around in front of Henry to face him and walked backwards.

"I love a good challenge. I'm sure I'll sing the pants off of whatever song they throw at me. I'm just not so sure about his coworker. I mean, I don't want to embarrass him or her too badly."

"Rach, remember that thing we talked about a few days ago?"

"What? The not being pretentious thing?

"Yeah, _that_ thing," Henry said as he smiled. He found Rachel's overly confident attitude endearing, but he knew that everyone wouldn't feel the same.

"Oh, right, I forgot," Rachel said with a cheesy grin. "Anyway, I'm just not sure how it will turn out with no practice whatsoever."

"I guess we'll just have to see," Henry said as he kissed the side of Rachel's head. "Now, get to class."

"I'll see you there tonight?" Rachel said as she twirled a lock of hair in her fingers and looked pathetically at Henry.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Henry replied as they let go of each other's' hands and parted ways.

Rachel was excited about performing at the bar that night. Not only would she be able to show off to her vocal talent, she would also be singing a duet with someone she didn't know and it would be the kind of challenge she had been waiting for.

On the other side of town, Quinn was having a minor panic attack. She would have to see Rachel Berry again, and she had to SING with her. Quinn had given up on thinking of an appropriate song, so Brandon said he would find one for them. He refused to tell her what song they were singing until a few hours before they performed and said it would add character to the performance, but she thought it would only add stress and rage – rage of epic proportions.

After class, Quinn headed to the bar to start her shift. Brandon was already there wiping off the counter and getting ready for the afternoon regulars.

"Hey there! Ready for tonight?" Brandon exclaimed as Quinn walked through the door.

"I still hate you," Quinn grumbled as she walked past him, threw her bag into the corner of the office, and came back out to the bar. "What song are you making me sing with her?"

"It's a surprise," mocked Brandon. "Don't worry, I'll give you plenty of time to practice. I know you already know the song, so you won't need to learn lyrics or anything."

"I can barely contain my excitement," Quinn deadpanned.

"Admit it, you love working with me!"

"Almost as much as I love chewing on tin foil."

"You're too kind, Q."

Quinn gave Brandon a death glare and got ready to serve the pre-dinner crowd. The bar also served as a daytime café and Quinn was one of the waitresses. By night, she became Quinn: Master Bartender.

A couple of hours passed and Quinn started getting more and more anxious. She still had no idea what song she had to sing with Rachel, but Brandon promised to give her some time to prepare. As long as the song wasn't "Don't Stop Believing," Quinn didn't care what he chose.

While Quinn was serving a dish, the tinkle of the bell on the door rang throughout the bar. Quinn looked over and Rachel walked through the door. She was three hours early. Nearly dropping the plates she was holding, Quinn darted behind the bar.

"What are you doing?"

Shhh! Don't draw attention to me," Quinn whispered. Her heart was racing after seeing Rachel again. It almost felt like it was about to leap out of her throat and latch onto Rachel's leg.

"You kind of drew your own attention when you dove behind the counter like Keanu Reeves. We're not in the Matrix, Q."

"Oh, shut up Brandon! I can't let Rachel see me yet."

Quinn wasn't entirely sure why she was so nervous about seeing Rachel again. She had hardly thought about her while in college. Boys like Ralph would pursue her, but she always made excuses why it wouldn't work. The last relationship she had lasted three weeks and she broke up with the guy, because he popped his gum.

"Okay, whatever you say, Neo."

Quinn pulled on Brandon's leg hairs and he let out a tiny yelp.

Slowly, Quinn arose from behind the counter and watched Rachel sit at a table in the corner. Quinn begged Brandon not to make her serve Rachel. She wasn't prepared mentally or physically to be reintroduced to the woman who ruined her at the end of senior year.

After Rachel had left her room on prom night, Quinn broke down into a pile of broken girl flesh. She couldn't understand her feelings towards Rachel and convinced herself that it wasn't normal and she absolutely could not have those feelings. What would her parents think? Her father had already disowned her for getting pregnant, but being a lesbian after all of that? It would literally kill the man.

Quinn could imagine watching her father shatter to pieces in front of her as she came out. She couldn't do that to them, not after everything she'd put them through the past four years.

There was also the fact that she completely blew up at Rachel every chance she got during her senior year. She had been invited to Rachel's graduation party, but felt awkward about the entire situation and made up an excuse not to go.

At the time, Rachel thought she understood the reason why Quinn didn't show up. She assumed it was still because of her being with Finn, and was completely oblivious about Quinn's feelings. Quinn was, after all, an expert at bottling things up and hiding them from people.

The fact of the matter was, Quinn couldn't bring herself to face Rachel. Every time she saw Rachel at school with Finn, she could feel a piece of her heart chip away. English class was especially hard, because she sad behind the two of them and had to watch them whisper to each other and pass notes back and forth. Quinn was positive those notes said things like "your boobs are really nice" and "the way you compliment my voice everyday is most pleasant".

Quinn lost touch with most of the people from glee club, but she still e-mailed Santana occasionally. In one of her e-mails, Santana told Quinn that Rachel and Finn had attempted to maintain a long distance relationship with Rachel in New York and Finn in Ohio, but it didn't last very long. Rachel said she needed to concentrate more on her studies and she told Finn he ought to do the same if he wanted to keep his scholarship.

When Quinn heard Rachel and Finn had broken up, she wanted to contact Rachel so many times, but couldn't bring herself to pick up the phone or compose a new e-mail. She thought it was better to keep her distance and, hopefully, Rachel would forget Quinn existed.

It worked until a week ago, when Rachel came into the bar and sang. Quinn couldn't take her eyes off of the woman. She was still breathtakingly beautiful and her voice sounded like warm butter on toast.

Quinn was terrified. She was terrified of talking to Rachel again after all these years. She was terrified that Rachel hated her and would storm out after seeing that the duet was with Quinn. Most of all, she was terrified that Rachel would act like she didn't know Quinn at all.

"Please, Brandon, don't make me serve her table. I'm not ready," Quinn pleaded.

"Wow, okay, calm down. I'll go serve her."

Quinn had no idea how she was going to hide from Rachel for the next three hours. She was thinking she could convince Brandon to either let her work in the kitchen or go practice whatever song he chose. Or she could just grow a pair and say hello.

When Brandon started walking back towards the bar, Quinn asked if she could use her break to practice. He finally agreed and told her what song he chose for her to sing with Rachel.

Quinn raised her right eyebrow and said, "You seriously chose that song?"

"Yeah, why not? You both know it, it's a great song, and I think your voices would complement each other nicely."

"You're lucky I need this job," Quinn said as she poked a finger into Brandon's chest.

"Yeah, what would I do without your daily snarkiness?"

Quinn rolled her eyes and took her mp3 player into the office so she could practice the song.

Brandon walked over to Rachel's table and gave the best waiter-y smile that he could.

"Can I get you something to drink, Ms. Berry?"

"Oh, please, call me Rachel. I haven't won a Tony _yet_," Rachel grinned. "I'll just have a soy cappuccino, thanks."

Brandon headed back to the cappuccino machine and peeked into the office. Quinn had her earphones in and was listening to the song he chose.

He made the cappuccino and walked back to Rachel's table, placed the cup and saucer down gently, and told her what song he decided she should sing with Quinn.

"Oh, I love that song! Her voice is so sad and it's heartbreaking. That's an excellent choice."

"I'm so glad you like it. I thought I would let you know so you can have some time to prepare, not that you need it, but just in case..." Brandon rambled on.

"Would you have a place where I could practice?" Rachel cut in.

"Oh, sure! You can use my office in the back there. I have a stereo set up and the CD's already in there. Feel free to use it as long as you'd like."

"Great, thanks! I'll head in there after I finish my cappuccino."

"Not a problem, take your time."

As he walked away, Brandon realized that Quinn was still in the office. He thought about going to warn Quinn, but decided to just let fate run its course, although he had a hand in changing their fates. He didn't think there was any harm done. He watched Rachel get up out of her seat and started walking towards the office. It was almost as if she was walking in slow motion.

Rachel walked through the office door, surprised to see someone else in the office. The figure was pacing back and forth around the office with earphones in her ears. As she turned, Rachel recognized her immediately.

"Oh my Barbra. Quinn?"

Quinn froze after hearing Rachel's voice.

_Please let this be a dream. If it's not a dream, I am going to murder Brandon. I'm going to rip off his limbs and beat him to death. I'm-_

"Quinn, is that you?"

_Nope, not a dream._

"Rachel? Oh my goodness! What are you doing here?" Quinn said, feigning surprise. Rachel practically pounced on Quinn and gave her a bear hug, or, in Rachel's case, baby bear hug.

"Apparently, singing a duet with you. I didn't know you were the coworker Brandon was talking about. This is such a coincidence!"

"I know! This is such a surprise. I haven't seen you since, since..."

"Graduation," Rachel answered.

"Right, graduation. How have you been? You look great."

"I've been really good. I'm learning so much at Juilliard and there's a healthy amount of competition. Did you know there were other singers almost as good as me out there?"

Quinn sighed and smiled. She actually missed Rachel's confidence. It was refreshing hearing someone that sure of herself speak. Quinn envied that about Rachel.

"We should practice! Want to practice?" Rachel asked as she clapped her hands and bounced up and down. It was almost as if the past three years hadn't occurred and they were still in glee together. But, this was different, because Quinn didn't feel the need to grab scissors and cut all of Rachel's hair off.

All of the feelings that Quinn had suppressed were coming back. She did her best to forget about them, but seeing Rachel again, up close, was making it very difficult to keep them forgotten.

Quinn could feel herself falling deeper and deeper in like with Rachel Berry. She didn't consider it love quite yet. It had been three years since they saw each other, after all.

As they were about to decide who was singing which verse, the tinkle of the door bell rang through the bar. Quinn craned her neck and looked out the door.

A man walked into the bar, said a few things to Brandon and started walking towards the office.

"Talk, dark, and creepy - 12 o' clock," Quinn whispered.

Rachel turned around and saw who it was, ran up to him and gave him a big hug.

"Hi, baby! I want to introduce you to someone." Rachel lead Henry towards Quinn.

"Quinn, this is my boyfriend, Henry. Henry, this is Quinn. We went to high school together."

With that, Quinn put the cork back on her bottle of emotions, and tucked it away neatly in her heart-shaped box.


	5. Gravity

Hey, everyone! Sorry for the absence. This is a fairly long chapter, so I hope it'll tide you over until I get back into my writing groove. Enjoy and thanks for all of the comments!

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><p>Gravity<p>

_Something always brings me back to you  
>It never takes too long<br>No matter what I say or do I'll still feel you here  
>'til the moment I'm gone<em>

Sara Bareilles, "Gravity"

Two excruciating hours passed since Quinn was introduced to Rachel's boyfriend. They looked so... so _perfect_ together. Their massive amounts of PDA made Quinn want to vomit, but she was trying to be polite considering she had just been reunited with Rachel and didn't know Henry very well. For all Quinn knew, he might be an okay guy, but Rachel's boyfriend history consisted of Puck, Finn, Jesse St. James, and other guys who were a mixture between the three. All Quinn knew was that Rachel clearly had a type and it definitely wasn't her.

It was almost time for Quinn and Rachel to sing their duet. Quinn's heart was practically beating out of her chest. She couldn't remember the last time she was so nervous. When she was in glee, all she had to do was stand in the background while Rachel and Finn sang together during every major performance.

Quinn could remember watching Rachel sing her whole senior year. Before then, it was annoying how good Rachel was. Everyone knew it, especially Rachel, but Quinn began to appreciate her talent. She would find herself humming along to Rachel's solos, watched her belt out those high F's, and dreamed of singing another duet with her, but that time never came. Mr. Schue was too preoccupied with conditioning those who were actually pursuing music careers like Rachel and Kurt. Quinn didn't blame him, though. She knew they would move on to bigger and better things and she was content to live her life with a clean slate outside of Lima.

The act right before Quinn and Rachel was almost done. It was a guy singing some Jason Mraz song, solo with a guitar. He was mediocre at best, but neither Quinn nor Rachel were really paying attention. Henry had been whispering into Rachel's ear all night and Quinn just watched them. She wasn't just envious that Henry was with Rachel. She was more envious that Rachel had found someone she enjoyed spending time with and probably told all her secrets to. Quinn would have done anything to be that person. She wasn't sure when she had become so co-dependent, but she was going to blame it on lady hormones.

As Quinn tried to snap herself out of her Rachel Berry Fangirl phase, Brandon walked up to their table and said it was their turn. Brandon led the way to the stage while Rachel and Quinn followed. There was a lone piano on the stage with a microphone and another microphone stand at the front of the stage.

Rachel stood at the microphone at the front of the stage and wondered why there wasn't another mic next to it for Quinn. Quinn walked straight to the piano and sat down on the bench.

Surprised, Rachel turned to Quinn.

"I didn't know you could play the piano."

"I got lessons from Brad. He let me practice after school. I figured if the boys got to play guitar during their songs, I should get to play the piano."

"It's too bad you didn't get any solos."

Rachel realized how hurtful those words could be and apologized immediately.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant it was too bad Mr. Schue didn't give you any solos, because you're a really good singer and I enjoy singing next to you, and –"

"Rachel, stop. It's time for us to start."

"Oh, right! Let's start."

Rachel turned towards the audience and smiled a big, toothy, grin.

"Hi, everyone! We're glad you all could make it. As you probably know, I'm Rachel Berry…" Rachel waited for the applause. "The song we're about to sing was chosen by our bass player, who is also the manager of this fine establishment. Give a round of applause for Mr. Brandon Jacobs!"

The crowd clapped and cheered for Brandon. A lot of the regulars were there to support them. It was practically a full house.

"We also have another special guest up here. She actually went to the same high school as me and I'm so glad she agreed to sing up here with us. On the piano, Ms. Quinn Fabray!"

"That's my girl," someone shouted from the crowd. It was Ralph.

Quinn rolled her eyes and did her best to ignore him. She lay her hands on the keys and let them take over. The piano was one instrument that Quinn had always loved, even when she couldn't play it. As Quinn played, Rachel's voice echoed through the bar.

_You hold me without touch  
>You keep me without chains<br>I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love  
>And not feel your rain<em>

Hearing Rachel sing up close again sent shivers down Quinn's spine. She played the Sara Bareilles song as if her fingers were singing for Rachel and Rachel only. While in her Rachel trance, Quinn almost forgot she was supposed to sing, too. She brought her lips up to her microphone and sang with the most feeling she could muster up.

_Set me free, leave me be  
>I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity<br>Here I am and I stand so tall, just the way I'm supposed to be  
>But you're on to me and all over me<em>

Quinn hadn't sung publicly in years, but she still enjoyed singing in the privacy of her own apartment. She knew her voice was nowhere near Rachel Berry's caliber, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that she was on stage with Rachel again.

This was a strange feeling for Quinn. In fact, it was strange feeling _anything_. She had gone through the past couple of years as a human shell - going to class and learning about how public media has changed in the past fifty years, but there was no passion, no drive. The only thing that kept Quinn from dropping out was imagining the look of disappointment on her mother's face.

_You loved me 'cause I'm fragile  
>When I thought that I was strong<br>But you touch me for a little while  
>And all my fragile strength is gone<br>_

The last time Quinn felt this exhilarated was when they had won nationals their senior year. It took them three years to get there, but they had finally won. That was the last time Quinn had felt that amount of happiness and excitement all at once. All their hard work had paid off and as much as Quinn hated to admit it, she felt more involved in glee than she had in the Cheerios or anywhere else. They were her family for the last three years of high school, and like a family, she had to let go and experience life on her own.

When their song ended, Quinn was holding back tears. She bowed her head close to the piano keys and tried to hold it together. She couldn't – no, wouldn't – let anyone see her cry, especially Rachel.

The crowd roared with cheers and hoots and claps. Rachel stood in front of the microphone, absorbing the energy and applause like Tinkerbell. She turned towards Quinn and held out her hand. A little hesitant, Quinn took Rachel's hand and walked towards the front of the stage. She curtsied and smiled as the crowd, along with Rachel and Brandon, cheered for Quinn.

Quinn was relieved that it was over, but she was wanted more. She rediscovered her love for singing and the piano, and it was all because of Rachel - well, Rachel and Brandon - but mostly Rachel. That's when the nerves set in. What if this is the last time they'd ever sing together? What if Rachel thought she was horrible? What if she never saw Rachel again? What if -

"Hey Quinn, want to go grab some dinner?" Rachel's voice rang through Quinn's ears. "Henry has to head back to campus for a meeting, but I'm starving. Brandon, you want to come, too?"

"No, that's okay. _Someone_ has to tend the bar."

Quinn's heart sank. She remembered she still had a couple more hours left on her shift.

"Oh, I would love to, but I need to finish my shift. We're already short-staffed as it is."

"Nah, you go ahead, Q. I can hold down the fort," Brandon said with a wink. "You'd better take advantage of your time with Ms. Berry before she becomes too famous and forgets about all of us little guys."

Rachel grinned and motioned towards the door. "Let's go!"

Quinn turned towards Brandon and mouthed a "thank you" and headed outside.

It was a warm autumn night in New York - perfect meandering weather, in Quinn's opinion. Rachel and Quinn left the Nightengale Lounge and headed up the street. They were silent until they passed a billboard with Rachel's show on it.

"I always pass that on my way home," Quinn said, finally breaking the awkward silence.

"You have to see my giant nose every night?" Rachel responded, jokingly.

"It's not THAT big," Quinn responded with a chuckle. "I still can't believe you almost got a nose job in high school."

"It's not unusual for girls in high school to feel insecure, especially with all of the bullying going on nowadays. Besides, it wasn't just because I had a big nose. It was supposed to help my singing, too."

"Relax Rachel, I was just making conversation. I always thought your nose was perfect - I mean, I never thought you needed to change your appearance."

Rachel smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, it's hard to get out of that mindset where you have to defend everything you do. Looks are still your most important feature out here. I found that out the hard way after auditioning and not getting call-backs, because I didn't have the right "look". In an industry where your talent should be your most valuable asset, it's clearly not. Oh, look at me ramble on. How rude of me. What's been going on with you?"

"Oh, you know, work and school keeping me pretty busy. I wanted to concentrate on school work when I got out of Lima."

Rachel scoffed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. I just can't picture you as a bookworm. I thought you'd be involved in sororities and partying."

"Oh, thanks! Good to know you think so highly of me, Rachel," Quinn replied as she jabbed Rachel with her elbow.

Rachel smiled warmly and stood in front of a set of doors.

"We're here! This is one of my favorite places to come. Henry and I are regulars."

Quinn looked up at the sign above the doors that read Lettuce Serve You in green letters.

"This must be a vegan-friendly restaurant," Quinn noted.

"But of course! Don't worry, Quinn. Food here is excellent, even if you eat meat. Henry thinks so, too, and he's the most carnivorous of carnivores."

Rachel opened the door for Quinn and followed her in. She walked up to the host and whispered something to him. He grinned and motioned to the girls to follow him. Quinn and Rachel walked behind the host to an isolated booth in the corner of the restaurant. Rachel must have told him they wanted privacy. This was the fanciest meatless restaurant that Quinn had ever seen, not that she had seen very many.

They sat at each end of the booth, talked about the past three years, past loves, and in Rachel's case, current loves. Rachel gushed about Henry and how unlike her ex-boyfriends he was. Quinn listened patiently, re-learning the girl she tormented in high school. Rachel had grown up quite a bit since high school, which was to be expected. She still had the confidence, but it was more matured. Rachel knew she was good at what she did. The difference was, she knew others were just as good (as much as she hated to admit it).

The girls ordered their meals and Rachel ordered a bottle of wine for them to share. As they waited for their food, they drank their wine and reminisced about high school. Neither one of them had really kept in touch with anyone else from the glee club. They'd send each other sporadic text messages, but most of them were just too busy with their own lives.

After three fourths of the wine had disappeared, Quinn and Rachel were still conversing like old friends – or, rather, new friends. In the middle of their conversation, Rachel had unintentionally grazed Quinn's arm and sent chills all over her body. This was the first time Quinn felt this type of connection with anyone and it just so happened to be Rachel Freaking Berry. Quinn couldn't believe that she ever hated this girl. Again, she blamed her hormones and misguided jealousy, as well as her need to be in control of her life after feeling so helpless for so long.

When they had their fill of meatless food and wine, they left the restaurant and started heading towards Central Park together. It almost felt like a date to Quinn, but she knew that it was completely one-sided and Rachel merely saw it as a way to catch up with Quinn after zero contact for three years, and that was okay with her.

"It's such a nice evening," Rachel said as she put her hands in her coat pocket.

"Yeah, it is. I think we got lucky. The weather's been pretty terrible lately."

They had resorted to talking about the weather. Quinn panicked. She needed to get their conversation back on track, so she asked the first question that came to her mind.

"So, where did you and Henry meet?"

_Seriously? You could have asked any question - any question at all, and you ask about Henry? _Quinn thought to herself and instantly regretting asking Rachel about her boyfriend.

"We met our freshman year. We were so engrossed in our studies and learning how to perfect our craft that we didn't really notice each other until the end of that year. He asked me out and he was so nervous and polite, and I found it endearing, so I agreed. Henry's nothing like the boys we went out with in high school. He's so selfless and generous and - oh, goodenss, there I go again. I guess I still haven't gotten rid of my knack for inane chatter."

Quinn began feeling nauseous.

"We should probably call it a night. I have to get up pretty early tomorrow."

That was a lie.

"Oh! It is getting late, isn't it. We have to do this again. Maybe next time I can bring Henry along and you can bring Brandon. He seems to like you," Rachel said with a wink and a nudge.

Quinn laughed. "He has a girlfriend and I'm not at all interested. He's like my brother."

"Oh," Rachel pouted. "Well, we can still hang out again, can't we? I had a lot of fun tonight."

"Yeah, of course. I had fun, too. Let me see your phone."

"Huh?" Rachel had a confused look on her face. The last time someone had asked for her phone, they used it to call their cousin in Norway. She wasn't quite sure how to explain that call to her dads when the bill came in. She told them it was a penpal.

"I'm just going to put my number in it," Quinn said with her expectant hand waiting for Rachel's phone.

Rachel hesitated, but relinquished the phone. She watched Quinn punch in her phone number. When Quinn handed it back to her, Rachel looked at the screen and it said "Quinn Fabray" and her number underneath.

Rachel pointed the phone at Quinn and yelled out, "Smile!"

Surprised, Quinn gave a big grin and Rachel took a picture to use as her contact photo.

"Okay, I'm gonna catch a cab back to campus. You going to be okay to get back yourself?"

Rachel puffed out her chest and said, "Of course, I've bulked up since high school. I'm not as puny as I used to be!"

Quinn chuckled and started hailing a cab. "You were always the strong one."

Rachel looked at Quinn, dumbfounded. She wasn't used to getting compliments from Quinn Fabray, former head Cheerio and ex of her high school exes.

As a taxi pulled up, Quinn climbed into the back seat. Rachel walked up to the door and leaned in slightly.

"Are you busy next weekend? The guys in my class are performing _Twelfth Night_. It would be great if you could come."

"Yeah, sure. That sounds fun. Just give me a call and give me the details."

Rachel bounced happily. "Great! I'll see you then." She leaned in closer, close enough for Quinn to smell her perfume. "Hello, Mr. Taxi Driver... sir. Make sure you get my friend home safely."

The taxi driver looked at Rachel through the rear view mirror and gave a nod and a wink. Quinn thought that was a bit creepy, but the scent of Rachel's perfume was almost making her feel drunk, so she didn't care.

Rachel closed the door to the taxi and gave Quinn a little wave. Quinn looked out the window and watched Rachel as the taxi drove away. She took a deep breath and slumped into the uncomfortable taxi seat and watched the buildings pass by. Tonight had been the best night Quinn had had in a long time and she was already counting down the days until she saw Rachel again.

When the taxi arrived at Quinn's apartment, she handed him some cash that she had received as tips that afternoon and hopped out onto the pavement. As she walked up the first flight of stairs, she felt her phone vibrate. It was a text message from Rachel. Quinn's heart started beating faster and her hands were shaking. Quinn told herself to get a grip and read the message. It said:

**Hey Quinn, had a great time tonight. Really looking forward to next weekend! I'm really glad we're friends again. I've missed you. :)**

Quinn sat on her bed and stared at the message. She must have read over it ten times before looking at the time. It's was 1:11 am, exactly, and she made a wish. Quinn and Brittany would make wishes at 11:11 and 1:11 whenever they were together at school. Brittany would always wish that Lord Tubbington would quit smoking and Quinn would wish she could get out of Lima. At least one of them got their wish to come true.

It took Quinn approximately 12 minutes to shower and get into bed. She was asleep in another 3 minutes and it would be the first time in years that she'd be able to fall asleep, excited to see what the next day had in store for her.


	6. I Can't Make You Love Me

Hey all, sorry it's taking longer and longer to get chapters written. This chapter's pretty much filler (again), but I think things are going to start picking up now. Thanks for sticking around. :)

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><p><em>Cause I can't make you love me if you don't<br>You can't make your heart feel something it won't  
>Here in the dark, in these final hours<br>I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power  
>But you won't, no you won't<em>

"I Can't Make You Love Me" - Bonnie Raitt

Saturday finally came along and Quinn spent the better part of the morning getting ready and trying to think of something to give to Rachel that wouldn't be obvious and awkward. Flowers were definitely out of the question and so were chocolates. Nothing that Quinn picked out from her closet looked right. Should she wear a sun dress or jeans? Accessories or no accessories? Hair up or down? The easiest decisions were suddenly becoming impossible.

She finally settled on jeans, a pair of sunglasses, and hair down. On her way to Juilliard, Quinn's palms began sweating and the butterflies in her stomach woke up and began fluttering around. Quinn had seen plenty of performances of _Twelfth Night_, but nonetheless, it was still one of her favorite Shakespeare plays. She was partial to tragedies, mostly because they generally told better stories and left a mark on her heart, but comedies would keep the mood light and Rachel wouldn't have to see her sob over upsetting storylines.

As her taxi pulled up in front of Rachel's apartment building, Quinn looked out the window and scanned the area. There were so many people walking around. It was like an army of Rachels and as much as Quinn loved being amidst them, it was a little overwhelming.

Quinn slung her bag across her hip and paid the taxi driver. She walked slowly towards Rachel's apartment and took her phone out of her pocket.

**Hey, I'm in 4C. See you soon!**

The girls had been texting back and forth all week when Rachel was bored in class or Quinn was on her break at work, or when they were just sitting at home with nothing else to do. It was a good feeling for Quinn. She missed having someone to just tell random things to. Brandon was a good stand-in, but he never understood her glee club references. He was polite, though, and humored Quinn when she talked about the time Coach Sylvester tried to frame Mr. Schue for allowing Brittany to shave Blaine's eyebrows off, because she thought they were going to crawl into her ears while she slept.

Quinn climbed up the four flights of stairs and looked for 4C. She didn't have to look very hard. A big gold star was placed around the peephole on Rachel's door along with musical note stickers. She took a deep breath and lifted her fist, ready to knock, when the door swung wide open. Rachel exploded out of the room and threw her arms around Quinn.

An "oof" came from Quinn and Rachel took a couple of steps back to examine Quinn's wardrobe.

"Nice shoes," Rachel said as she looked at Quinn's purple sneakers. They were her favorite pair. Rachel was wearing a long, light pink skirt with a button-up sweater. Apparently, not everything had changed since high school, including Rachel's fashion sense.

"Thanks," replied Quinn. "Nice door."

Rachel looked at her door and scoffed. "Oh, that. My dads decorated and I haven't had the heart to tell them that I'm not in high school anymore."

The two girls stood outside of the apartment for a few moments before Rachel stepped aside and motioned Quinn to enter. "Come in, come in!"

As Quinn walked through the doorway, she immediately smelled determination and drive, and maybe a hint of cinnamon. It was a modestly sized apartment, but it looked cozy and fit Rachel well. She was even able to fit that silly elliptical machine in there.

The walls were covered with pictures - of Rachel and her dads, of Henry, and even a few from high school. Quinn looked more closely at the glee club pictures and she actually looked happy. She had friends back then. They were friends who listened to her talk about her boy problems, friends who let her spend the night when she and her parents had a fight, and friends who cared about her.

Quinn hated to admit it, but she missed them. Seeing Rachel again reminded her of all of the negative aspects of high school, but she also rememberd the positive parts. All of the tormenting and teasing that Quinn directed at Rachel was a part of the past and it seemed like Rachel had forgotten about all of it, or at least it didn't matter anymore.

Rachel caught Quinn looking at the pictures. "Brings back good memories, huh?"

"Yeah," Quinn replied quietly. "Some bad, too. Remember the slushies and all of the fights between Sue and Mr. Schue?"

"Oh yeah," Rachel shuddered as she thought about the sting of the slushies. "The high school hierarchy mentality never really goes away, does it."

Not quite sure what Rachel meant by that, Quinn just shakes her head and continues looking at the pictures. It makes Quinn think about Nationals; they were in Los Angeles their senior year.

* * *

><p>Everyone had a great time walking down the walk of fame on Hollywood Boulevard to Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The kids had to stop several times to take pictures of the stars. Rachel had to find Barbra's star. She vowed to have her name on one of these stars. Heck, even Godzilla had one, so why not her?<p>

At dinner, they spent most of their mealtime making fun of Finn who had gotten cheated out of $30 for one picture with a guy dressed like a mix between Zorro and a hipster pirate. It was bad.

It was moments like this that made Quinn regret choosing to go to NYU as opposed to following Brittany and Santana to UCLA or staying in Midwest. She would miss these guys, but she knew she had to grow up and figure out who she was. Quinn couldn't do that if she hung around with the same people she's been friends with for the past three years. That wasn't to say she would never see or speak to them again, but she knew that going away to college would be good for her.

How wrong she was.

Her first year of college was fairly smooth. She went to class, took interesting electives that she enjoyed like Children's Literature and Intro to Philosophy. She met some new people, but no one noteworthy. The dorm life certainly was different from any living situation Quinn had been in. Sure, she's had to share bathrooms and space with her sister and Mercedes when she moved in with her and her parents, but she wasn't used to having to share a 400 square foot room with another person and a bathroom with 25 other people.

Quinn enjoyed her privacy, so she spent most of her time in the library or in the quad. People didn't bother her there. She thought about joining a sorority or some clubs to get to know more people, but she honestly had no motivation. There's always next year.

By the time the next year came, between classes and her part time job at a café on campus, she didn't have much time for extracurricular activities. She had gotten involved in the events team that brought bands to perform on campus, so at least that was something she could credit herself for.

When Quinn began her third year of college, that's when she found out her financial aid was being pulled and she would need to find out how to pay for her tuition for the next two years. She met Brandon at one of the concerts on campus and he said he needed a new full time waitress/bartender and Quinn seemed desperate for work. It didn't pay much more than minimum wage, but it was something. Brandon let her have her lunches for free as long as she cooked them herself and she got extra money for helping organize the open mics each week. Still, even with the money coming in from her job, she wasn't going to be able to continue living in her one bedroom apartment if she wanted to eat something other than instant noodles and macaroni and cheese for dinner for the next two years.

She would need a plan. Rachel had come back into her life at the most opportune moment. Quinn needed a roommate and Rachel seemed interested in a friendship with Quinn. Maybe she would let her move in.

Quinn wasn't thinking about how awkward it would be to see Rachel in only a towel after her shower or where she would actually sleep, but this was the best option that she had if she didn't want to room with a complete stranger.

Plus, it was Rachel.

Just being around her again made Quinn feel safe; she made Quinn feel at home.

* * *

><p>The two girls walked to the outdoor theatre where <em>Twelfth Night<em> was being performed. There was a stage laid out on the grass and some people had brought picnic baskets. Rachel brought her own blanket and laid it out on the grass for them to sit on. It was a _Wicked_ blanket. Looking at the blanket pensively, Quinn imagined herself as Glinda and Rachel as Elphaba. They're two completely different people with different lives who became best friends.

Rachel sat down and Quinn looked around the area. A few food and drink booths were set up.

"Do you want a drink?" Quinn asked.

"Oh, sure! Um, let me see what they have," Rachel said as she stood up and squinted at the drink sign at the booth. "Could you get me a mineral water, please?"

Rachel started getting money out of her wallet and Quinn batted her hand away.

"Don't worry about it, I'll get it," Quinn said with a smile and walked towards the booth.

Rachel sat down on the blanket with her legs extended in front of her. It was a crisp autumn day. The sun was out, but it was still cool enough to need a thin jacket. Quinn walked back with a mineral water and had a gotten herself a lemonade. She took a seat next to Rachel and handed her the water cup and sipper her lemonade through her straw.

Her pinky grazed Rachel's and it sent chills down her spine. She discreetly moved her hand away and watched the actors prepare. The actors were dressed in their Shakespearean garb and Quinn caught herself admiring the females more than the males.

Quinn's sexuality had never been an issue that was ever brought up by anyone, so she never paid much attention to it. Her parents just didn't discuss it. If they didn't talk about it, it wasn't an issue. She obviously liked boys in high school, but that began to change when she started looking at Rachel differently. She and Santana would have casual conversations about how Santana knew that she was a lesbian and how it affected her mentally, but it was easier since she had Brittany.

There was an LGBT group on campus that Quinn thought about joining, but she didn't feel comfortable enough about it to go through with it. She googled how people dealt with it when they first found out, but everyone was different. Some people found it easy to dive in head-first into new groups and situations while others kept it hidden and bottled up until they were either forced out or gradually became comfortable enough to talk about it.

Quinn decided just to keep it hidden. She wasn't hurting anyone and no one _really_ needed to know.

The play was about to begin and the man playing Duke Orsino stepped to the middle of the stage.

"It's starting!" Rachel exclaimed as she excitedly grabbed Quinn's forearm. Quinn smiled at Rachel and mimicked her excitement.

_If music be the food of love, play on;  
>Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting;<br>The appetite may sicken, and so die.  
>That strain again! It had a dying fall<br>_

Rachel and Quinn watched the play intently until intermission. Quinn got up and bought them a bowl of nachos to share (with no animal products). They talked about their classes and exams that were coming up. Quinn saw an opening to spend more time with Rachel and she jumped at the chance.

"If you ever need a study break, we can grab a coffee or something."

"Oh, that would be great! Henry will probably need breaks from studying, too."

Quinn's heart sank. She thought Henry was a really fun guy to be around, but she was hoping that she and Rachel would be alone. That would be difficult, though, because the two seemed joined at the hip every other day.

"What are your plans for Christmas?" Rachel asked Quinn.

Quinn had only gone back to Lima a handful of times since she moved away to college. She wasn't really planning on doing anything for Christmas. Brandon had invited her to join him and his girlfriend for dinner, but she hated being the third wheel. They were going to have a bigger party for New Year's that she decided she would go to.

"I don't really have any plans. I didn't really want to go back home," Quinn tried to be as vague as possible. In actuality, she couldn't afford to go back home even if she wanted to. Plane tickets during Christmas and New Year's cost twice as much as they usually are.

"Oh, that's too bad. My dads are coming up this year. If you want to come by for dinner, you're more than welcome to!"

Quinn adored Rachel's innocence and generosity, but she'd feel awkward being with a family that wasn't hers, even though her own family wasn't all that close anymore.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't want to impose. You'll want to spend time with your dads and Henry and I'll just be the awkward third cousin that you see once a year."

Rachel gaped at Quinn. "Don't be silly! My dads would love to see you again, and Henry's going home to Philadelphia, so it would just be the four of us. You need to do _something_ for Christmasukkah!"

"Rachel, your dads hate me. They were co-presidents of the I Hate Quinn Fabray Club in high school."

"Well, yeah, Quinn. You tormented me!"

Quinn was embarrassed. Rachel did remember, and it probably still hurt her to think about it. This conversation was beginning to open a can of worms that may never close, so Quinn quickly changed the subject.

"Okay, okay. I was a bitch. I admit it! High school makes you do strange things to get approval from your peers. If it'll make you feel better, I'll join you and your dads for Christmas."

"... ukkah."

"Christmasukkah."

Rachel jumped up and clapped her hands in excitement. She never had a friend over for the holidays. Every time she tried to talk Finn into coming over, he made up some kind of excuse. For Christmas and Hanukkah, he said he the smoke from menorahs (which he so eloquently called "the candle holder thing") gave him a rash. But this year, Rachel got to share it with Quinn. She had to plan! What did Quinn like to eat?

The Fabrays were the type who would have enormous roasts for dinner with ten side dishes and homemade pies that Judy would start preparing at 5am that morning. Rachel's dads tried to instill general housewifely duties into her, but she was a stubborn child. Whenever she would cook, she'd make them a vegan meal that they would collectively sneer at. In any case, Rachel would find recipes online to test for the next month or so to perfect her Christmasukkah menu.

When the play finished, the girls agreed to meet for coffee when they had a break during finals. Quinn finally felt like things were falling together. She had a newish best friend, a place to spend the holidays, and, oh yeah, rent she couldn't afford. She'd worry about that later. Right now, she needed to find Rachel a Christmas present and she had to make it one to remember. Quinn knew exactly what to get. If she could pull this off, it would surely earn her some massive Rachel Adoration Points. Quinn would give her the present, Rachel would be so overwhelmed with joy that she'd leave Henry for her and they're begin a new magical relationship in New York. Or not. At least, it would make Rachel happy and they'd still be best friends, and Quinn was content with that... for now.


	7. Remember To Breathe

Remember to Breathe  
>So sneakers or flip flops?<br>I'm starting to panic, wait wait  
>Remember she asked you<br>Remember to breathe  
>And everything will be okay<p>

-Dashboard Confessional, "Remember to Breathe"

It was getting closer and closer to Christmas and Quinn was getting anxious about meeting up with Rachel and her parents. It had been a long time since she had even celebrated a holiday with other people. She usually spent them at home, watching movies or taking walks in Central Park. Her favorite area was Strawberry Fields. She'd visit the John Lennon _Imagine_ mosaic every time she went and leave some flowers as most people did.

This year she had plans with Rachel and her dads. It was going to be interesting, to say the least. She had ordered Rachel's present the week before to make sure it got there on time. It had set her back a couple hundred dollars, but Rachel was worth it. Quinn couldn't wait to see the look on Rachel's face when she opened it.

The next two weeks were a blur. Between work, final exams, and sleep, Quinn just focused on Christmas break. She found herself thinking about Rachel constantly as if there was some kind of spell cast on her. Every waking moment, she thought about how much Rachel would love the class she was in at the time or would look for vegan meals at restaurants that Quinn went to in case she took Rachel there someday.

Quinn had been working extra hours that month to try and save up extra money to pay off Rachel's present and other expenses. Brandon noticed something different about Quinn, but he couldn't really pinpoint what it was. She seemed happier, like she was actually living rather than merely existing.

"You're looking pretty content with yourself, Q."

"Am I?" Quinn asked nonchalantly, as she wiped off the bar's bench.

"Yeah, you seem more relaxed," Brandon replied. His eyes widened. "Oh my god, did you get laid?"

Quinn jaw dropped as she threw her tea towel at Brandon's head. "No, you perv, I did not get laid."

"Oh, well that's disappointing. I thought that would explain your good mood lately."

Brandon saying that made Quinn think about how she had been acting and feeling. Rachel seemed to fill a void in her and she liked it. She hadn't felt like this in a long time. But no, she definitely did not get laid.

As Quinn finished up her shift, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

**Hey, when do you finish work? I have something to show you.**

Quinn's heart started beating faster as she began replying to the text.

**I'm off in about twenty minutes. Want to meet me here?**

**Definitely! See you soon! **

Quinn raced to the bathroom to fix up her hair and made sure she didn't look too worn down after her day of work. She came back out and finished serving her customers and cleaning up a bit more. When her shift was over, she stood with Brandon behind the bar and helped out while she waited for Rachel to come by.

Brandon glanced over at Quinn and noticed her humming to herself. He had no idea what, or who, was making her so happy. It's not that he was complaining, because he liked this new Q. He was just curious. Maybe he'd wait until the New Year's party and get her good and drunk so she'd spill all the details.

Just as Brandon was about to make another comment about Quinn's change in personality, the bell on the entrance door rang and they both watched as Rachel entered the bar. She had an air about her, like she owned the ground she walked on. It was that sort of confidence that could make a person hate you and, at the same time, make them fall in love with you.

Quinn gave Rachel a big toothy grin and Brandon gave her a wave.

"Hey, guys!" Rachel was holding a large envelope to her chest and walked up to the bar where Quinn and Brandon were standing.

"Hey, Rachel. Can I get you anything to drink?" Brandon asked, getting a couple glasses out.

"Oh, I'll just have a Diet Coke, thanks. Trying to watch my figure," Rachel responded, giving Brandon a wink.

"Right, how about you, Quinn?"

"I'll just have a pineapple juice."

Brandon cocked his eyebrow. "You two are so boring. I'm making mojitos and you're going to like them."

The girls rolled their eyes at Brandon and sat down at the bar while they waited for Brandon to mix their drinks.

Quinn smiled nervously. "I hope you didn't drive here."

Rachel smiled back, "No, I didn't. Henry dropped me off and I told him we'd catch a cab back."

At the mention of Henry's name, Quinn's smile diminished significantly, but she tried not to make it obvious.

"So," Quinn said to get her mind off of The Boyfriend, "What did you have to show me?"

"Oh yeah! Look at what my dads sent me." Rachel opened up the envelope and whipped out a DVD.

"It's a... DVD," Quinn said skeptically.

"Not only is it a DVD. It's a DVD of our performance at Nationals."

Brandon just about dove over the bar to look at the DVD, even though it was just a plain disc with no case.

"Oh man, you _need_ to let me see this. Quinn's told me all about your glee club and now I'm curious."

Quinn pats Brandon on the shoulder. "Yeah... no. Not going to happen. It's going to be way too embarrassing for anyone else's eyes."

"Come on, Q! I think it'll be awesome. Let me see it."

"Nope. Rach, we'd better go before he whines us to death."

Rachel laughed and headed towards the door. Quinn gave Brandon a playful punch on his arm and he winked back.

"Have fun, you two. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Quinn scoffed. "There isn't much you wouldn't do."

"Hey! I resent that. There's plenty I wouldn't do. Like take a bath in infected needles or have a picnic with Rick Santorum."

"Bye, Brandon," Quinn replied as she ushered Rachel out the door.

Rachel gave a quick wave as the two left the bar. They hail a cab and head back towards Rachel's apartment. Quinn looked out the window at all of the buildings while Rachel and the cab driver talked about the latest Broadway gossip. She always loved the architecture of New York. The Guggenheim Museum was one of her favorite places to go to just sit and watch people.

They pulled up to Rachel's apartment building and climbed out. Quinn noticed that they always go to Rachel's apartment, but she didn't mind.

Quinn followed Rachel up to her apartment without saying a word. She felt awkward enough as it was. There was something about Rachel that made all of her confidence melt away and left her vulnerable core exposed. What happened to the badass Quinn from high school - the Quinn who would never be nervous about being around Rachel Berry?

"Go ahead and have a seat. I'll get us something to drink," Rachel said as she walked into the kitchen.

Quinn sat on the sofa and looked around anxiously. A jacket that looked like it would be too big for Rachel was on the arm of the sofa. It must be Henry's.

Rachel came back with two glasses of wine and set them on the coffee table. She stuck the DVD into the player and pressed "play". The video began with Rachel's dads fiddling with the camera. Quinn could hear Hiram whispering, "She's on! Point it towards the stage."

Naturally, her fathers were focusing on Rachel throughout their performance. She had fought for a solo as she usually had to. Mr. Schue had given all of the seniors their own solos that year, but Rachel felt she deserved one for Nationals, and she did. Quinn had talked to Mr. Schue about giving Rachel singing at Nationals. She argued that Rachel was the only one who had really believed in the glee club. When basically everyone had given up, including her, Rachel fought for them. Selfishly, Quinn just wanted another opportunity to hear Rachel sing again and she wanted to give Rachel everything she wanted.

Rachel and Quinn watched the video and laughed at how young they looked.

"I can't believe I wore those sweaters," Rachel exclaimed.

"They were cute! You just needed a Cheerios make-over and you would have been fine."

Rachel smirked. "I'm pretty sure you and Santana would have shaved my head if you were given the chance."

Quinn smiled in embarrassment. They had treated Rachel pretty unfairly in high school.

As they continued watching their performance, Leroy had cut to a shot of Quinn. She was staring at Rachel as she sang. Not just staring. _Really staring_, burning-a-hole-through-Rachel's-head staring. Quinn didn't realize she was doing it at the time, but there it was, plain as day. She prayed that Rachel wouldn't notice, or would brush it off.

Just as Rachel opened her mouth to say something, her phone started ringing.

"Sorry, it's Henry. I'll just be a minute."

Half relieved and half disappointed, Quinn watched Rachel stand up and head to her bedroom. She tried to listen closely to see what they were talking about. Rachel sounded like she was raising her voice, but trying not to make it sound like they were arguing. The DVD had ended a few minutes ago and Quinn sat in the lounge room and waited for Rachel to finish her conversation with Henry.

About five minutes later, Rachel left the bedroom looking a little shaken, but trying to hide it.

"Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes, everything's fine," Rachel replied unconvincingly.

"Come on, Rach. You know I can tell when you're lying. Every time we talked about Finn, you'd flare your nostrils when you lied about how he hadn't upset you about something or another."

Rachel took a deep breath and looked at the wooden floor of her apartment.

"Henry and I were supposed to go to a New Year's party when he got back, but he's staying with his parents for another couple days instead."

Quinn watched Rachel talk about Henry and she knew that talking about him not coming back home for her hurt her. Maybe he wasn't the perfect boyfriend that Quinn had originally thought. She hated seeing Rachel upset, so she thought she would do her best to make her forget that her boyfriend wasn't going to be in town.

"Well, Brandon's having a party at his place on New Year's and I'm sure you could come with me. He'd do anything to have someone even remotely famous there."

Rachel scoffed. "Trying out for five off-Broadway shows and being turned down hardly makes me famous. It doesn't even make me infamous. It kind of makes me sad and pathetic."

Quinn realized that both she and Rachel had lost their confidence that they had in high school. They did their best to make it seem like they were sure of themselves, but there were times when something was just missing. She wasn't sure she could ever get it back. The least she could do was try to get Rachel's back for her.

"Oh, please, it does not. You're so talented, Rachel. You just need to find someone who will appreciate it and put it to good use. In any case, come to Brandon's party with me and we'll have a great time."

Rachel thought pensively and then nodded in agreement. "Yeah! This New Year's, I'm going stag. There's nothing wrong with that.

Quinn smiled. "It's a date then."

"It's a date!"

* * *

><p>It was Christmas Eve eve and Rachel was doing some last minute Christmas shopping. She still needed to get something for Quinn and had absolutely no idea what to get. All she knew is that she was majoring in journalism, works at a bar and plays the piano. Rachel decided that she'd go to Quinn's work and see if she could get any ideas out of Brandon.<p>

As she walked into the bar, Brandon immediately looked up and exclaimed a hello at Rachel.

"You're becoming quite the regular, Ms. Berry," he said with a wink. "Are you looking for Q? She's not working tonight, has her photojournalism class."

Rachel smiled politely. "No, actually, I wanted to speak to you."

Brandon puffed up his chest a little. He liked feeling needed. "Yeah, of course. What's up?"

Rachel sat down on one of the benches at the bar and folded her hands on the counter. "I need to know what to get Quinn for Christmas. I have to admit that I don't know her all that well and we didn't speak much in high school, so I don't know her interests."

Brandon thought for a few seconds, thinking about the times they had hung out and finding things that stood out.

"Well, whenever we hang out, she drags me to Central Park or Broadway to take pictures. She's complained a few times about needing a new camera, but I'm pretty sure that the one she wants is a $3000 camera."

"Wow, okay. I definitely can't afford that by myself."

"Yeah, it's pretty pricey. I'm sure we could think of something to get her."

"Surely, our collective intellect pool can think of something, but we don't have much time."

Brandon tapped his finger on the bar. Quinn had been a good friend to him, even though he was her boss. He was devising a plan and hoped that Rachel would be up for it.

"You know, I've got some things around the house I've been meaning to sell, and I'm sure that we can go on some kind of payment plan if we're serious on getting this camera for her. She doesn't really talk about things that have happened before we met, but I can tell that she's been through a lot and I think she deserves some happiness for a change."

Rachel nodded slowly. "Yes, she does." She knew it wasn't her place to tell Brandon about Beth and getting kicked out of her own home, but she did agree that she had been through plenty. But $1500? Where was she going to get that much money?

Brandon could see that Rachel was worried about the money, so he started pouring her a drink.

"I'll tell you what, Rachel. I've got a bunch of old baseball cards that I got from my grandpa that I can sell. I hardly look at them anymore and I'm sure he wouldn't mind. I have a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth that I could probably get close to $2000 for and a few other rare ones. I'll pay for the camera and you can just pay me back gradually."

Rachel's eyes widened. "No way. I can't let you do that. I'm too young to be in debt."

Brandon laughed a heartily. "Rachel, you're in college. You're already in debt. Besides, I've known Quinn for a couple years and I'd like to get her something nice and you sound like you would, too. It'll be fine. There's a camera store just down the street and I can get a good deal." He leans in and whispers, "The owner's a regular."

With a sigh, Rachel conceded. "Okay, you win. I'll save up and start paying you back immediately. I'll even sit at Times Square and sell my autographs for loose change."

"Deal." Brandon smiled as he held his hand up for a high five.

Rachel timidly slapped his hand and bid him goodbye. She had Quinn's present all settled. Now she needed to head back to her apartment and prepare for Christmasukkah.

* * *

><p>It was Christmas Day and Rachel had woken up extra early. She did her morning regime as usual and began decorating her apartment. The Christmasukkah tree had a Star of David at the top. Rachel found it amusing that they actually made cross-religious items, but people like her obviously bought them. Garlands, ceramic reindeer, and snowflake confetti decorated the rest of the apartment. Her dads would be there in t-minus thirty minutes and she had so much to do. Brandon was going to drop off Quinn's present before he left for his own party, she had to prepare lunch, wrap her dads' presents (she had gotten them matching reindeer sweaters), and organize all of her favorite Christmas movies.<p>

She was about to head into the shower when her phone buzzed. Rachel picked up her phone and looked at her message.

**Hey, babe. Merry Christmas. Sorry I can't be there. Love you.**

It was almost too short and formal. She shrugged it off and didn't reply. This day was about spending time with her friend and family. The kitchen in the apartment wasn't very big, but Rachel filled it with the food she planned on preparing. She had three vegetable dishes planned, a vegan-friendly roast, and a couple of different salads.

"This is going to be perfect," she said to herself. Just then, another message buzzed through her phone. She assumed it was Henry asking why she wasn't responding and apologizing for being an ass, so she just ignored it.

Rachel hopped into the shower and got herself ready for her guests. As she began picking out her outfit, her phone rang. Thinking that it was Henry annoying her with apologies, she answered it with, "Don't you have some football to watch, or something?"

To her surprise a feminine, very non-male voice replied. "Well, hello to you, too."

Mortified, Rachel's eyes widened. "Oh, gosh Quinn. I'm so, so sorry. I thought you were Henry."

Quinn just laughed. "Do you always speak to your boyfriend like that?"

"Only when he deserves it."

"Hey, I was just wondering if you wanted me to come by early and help you prepare. I'm pretty good with a knife."

Rachel laughed, "I'm sure you are. I remember Homicidal Quinn from high school."

"Hey, I wasn't THAT homicidal. I blame the hormones. Anyway, yes or no to me coming over now?"

"Um, sure, yes. I could use an extra pair of hands and someone to keep my fathers occupied when they show up."

"Great, I'll catch a cab and see you soon."

The girls said their goodbyes and Rachel hoped that Brandon would get there before Quinn did.

Just as Rachel finished her thought, her phone started ringing. Rachel grinned as she saw Brandon's name. He must have gotten Quinn's camera.

She answered excitedly, "Hello?"

"Hey, Rachel, it's Brandon. I have some bad news. I couldn't get the camera. The guy didn't have any left in stock when I went after work."

Rachel's heart sank. What was she going to do now? She couldn't give her nothing.

"Oh, well, thanks for trying. I appreciate your help."

"Don't worry about it. We'll get her something great and we can give it to her on New Year's. You're coming to my party, right? Quinn said you were, so you can't back out now."

"Yes, yes, I'll be there."

There was a knock at the door. "Hey Brandon, I'll call you back. Someone's here."

"Okay, no problem. Merry Christmas!"

Rachel hung up and opened the door. She looked at the two smiling figures at her door.

"Daddy's!" Rachel pounced on her fathers and embraced them in a giant hug. She wrapped her tiny arms as far around her fathers as she could.

"Hey, baby girl," Leroy said as he hugged back.

"How's our Baby Ber?" asked Hiram as he ran his hand through his daughter's curls the same way he did when she was a little girl.

Rachel looked up at her fathers and remembered why she missed them so much. They always knew how to make her smile with a pet name here or a hug there. They had been her support system throughout high school. They were there when she and Finn broke up and when she came home crying because she didn't get as many solos as she wanted or when she had gotten slushied for the fourth time that day. They were there.

That was more than she could say about anyone else in her life. People had always left her when she needed them the most, but not her dads. They were her biggest fans.

"You guys are just in time. Quinn should be here soon, too."

Hiram and Leroy looked at each other in disbelief. Did they hear their daughter correctly? Quinn, as in Fabray? As in, the girl who tortured Rachel throughout high school? There's no way that their daughter meant Quinn Fabray. It was college. Surely, there were plenty of people named Quinn. It's a common enough name. Isn't it?

Leroy broke the silence with a hopeful question. "Someone from one of your classes?"

"What? No, Quinn Fabray. You remember her from high school."

"Oh! The Quinn Fabray who slapped you on your prom night and then later told you that you two would never be friends? That Quinn?"

Hiram chimed in, "She also called you Man Hands and Rupaul on numerous occasions."

"Dad, she's completely changed. She doesn't use other people as emotional punching bags and she's _nice._ You'll see."

Her dads sighed at their daughter's big heart. They raised a good kid.

There was a knock at the door.

"Speak of the devil," Leroy said coyly. Rachel opened the door and Quinn was standing on the other side, smiling. They gave each other a hug and Quinn walked into the apartment. She was insanely nervous. It had been years since she saw Rachel's dads and she wasn't sure how they'd react to seeing someone who teased their daughter for so many years. Surprisingly, Hiram embraced her politely.

"Hello, Quinn. It's so nice to see you again," he said. He looked at Leroy and gave him a look that pretty much said _be a good father and be nice to your daughter's frenemy._

Leroy took a step forward, stonefaced, and nodded at Quinn. "Ms. Fabray."

Quinn shook his hand. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Berry."

You could cut the tension in the air with a knife, but Rachel didn't care. It was Christmasukkah and she was going to make the most of it.

After lunch had been prepared, they all sat at the table together to eat. They conversed about the classes the girls were taking, Leroy grilled Quinn about what she had been up to since high school. He asked if she had gotten her degree in life ruining yet as Hiram had swiftly kicked him under the table. Rachel looked at her apologetically and glared at her father.

Quinn just chuckled. "It's okay, I deserve that. I treated Rachel horribly."

"Yes, but you're making up for it now," Rachel said as she placed a hand on Quinn's shoulder.

Leroy rolled his big brown eyes and started clearing the table. Hiram stood up to help and ushered the girls into the living room. "Why don't you two pick out a few Christmas movies for us to watch? We'll be there in a few minutes."

Rachel and Quinn sat in front of the TV and looked through the DVDs. There was _Love Actually, Frosty the Snowman, _and a bunch of others. They decided on _A Charlie Brown Christmas_ to start off with. After three movies and two slices of pie, Rachel, Quinn, and the Berry dads began opening their presents. Rachel's heart sank, because she knew she didn't have anything for Quinn. Quinn could see that she was upset so she inched closer.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I-I don't have anything for you. I had something all planned out and it was going to be amazing, but Brandon couldn't get it in time and now it's present opening time and you're going to be the only one without presents and I'm an awful friend and don't deserve to be happy on Christmasukkah and -" Quinn had placed her hand over Rachel's mouth.

"Rachel, it's okay. Honestly. Being able to spend Christmas here with you and your fathers is a present in itself. I'm glad you invited me."

Leroy and Hiram watched the two girls and their big gay hearts melted into a big pile of goo.

Rachel leaped at Quinn and gave her a hug.

"That being said, I got you something," Quinn said as she reached into her bag. She pulled out a present wrapped in shiny green paper with a red bow on top. It was the size of a book. As she handed it to Rachel, Rachel began opening it slowly, taking care not to rip the paper. She opened the box and saw that there were two tickets for _Rent _and a _Rent_ playbill in the box. The playbill had been signed by the original cast members and the tickets were for a show the following weekend.

Rachel's eyes began to water. _Rent_ was one of her all-time favorite shows and Quinn had remembered. She remembered the conversation that they had in glee club their senior year when Rachel said she'd do anything to sing "I'll Cover You" on stage, even though men usually sang it. She said it was a song that could have been applicable for anyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or religion. If you truly love someone, you'd do anything to protect them, to be their shelter.

Now all of the Berry's were crying. Quinn looked down at the floor, embarrassed. This was new. She had never made anyone cry out of happiness before.

"Quinn, this is amazing. I can't believe you remembered."

"Of course I remembered. That was the class where Puck pantsed Finn and made Santana throw up."

Rachel laughed and gave Quinn a big hug. Quinn reciprocated. She had decided then and there that she would do everything in her power to make Rachel that happy all the time. She was aware that Henry was still in the picture, but no one said that a best friend can't elicit the same feelings that a significant other can. The feelings would just be platonic - completely and utterly platonic.

Rachel got up to find a frame for the playbill and Hiram followed to help. Quinn was left alone with Leroy who scared the living daylights out of her. She looked around nervously and began fiddling with the DVDs, cleaning them off of the floor.

Leroy inched his way closer to Quinn and leaned in, close enough that no one else could hear.

"So, how long have you been in love with my daughter?"

Quinn's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She was frozen and couldn't muster any kind of response.

_This is it, _she thought to herself. _Rachel's father is finally going to murder me here in this apartment._


	8. Baby, I've Got You On My Mind

Look at me, posting two chapters within the month. I guess I should thank work for not being incredibly busy. As usual, thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm pretty self-conscious about the dialogue, because I'm not used to writing it, but here goes nothing.

* * *

><p>Baby, I've got you on my mind<br>How much I need you by my side, promise you won't ever go  
>I won't take no from you this time<br>Baby, I've got you on my mind

- Powderfinger, "(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind"

_ So, how long have you been in love with my daughter?_

Quinn froze. She had no idea what she could say that wouldn't cause Leroy to murder her in Rachel's apartment. If she admitted to being in love with Rachel, he would say she wasn't good enough for his daughter and she doesn't deserve her. If she denied it, he would ask why Quinn didn't think Rachel was worthy of her admiration. It was a lose-lose situation.

"I, um, I've always cared about her," Quinn managed to mumble in response. She couldn't admit that she was in love with Rachel. Not yet, at least, and definitely not to Leroy "The Fist" Berry.

"Oh, really? So, those slushies thrown in her face were made out of love? That's complete bullsh-"

Before he could finish ripping into Quinn, Rachel and Hiram walked back into the lounge room and Leroy cut himself off.

Quinn breathed a sigh of relief. She shot a quick smile to Rachel, anything to keep herself from making eye contact with Leroy, who would most likely burn a hole straight into her forehead.

Hiram could see that Leroy was worked up and took the opportunity to make their exit. He told Rachel they'd meet for lunch the next day and they said their goodbyes. Hiram and Leroy gave Rachel a hug. Hiram gave a quick wave to Quinn and Leroy glared at her in a '_I know where you live' _way.

After they left, Quinn stayed for a little while longer to help clean up. She would glance over at Rachel every so often. Talking to Leroy made her think about high school and regret all of the horrible things she did and said to Rachel. If she had only gotten over her jealousy of her and Finn and her need to be popular, they could have been friends.

The amount of guilt she felt was drowning her and she didn't understand why Rachel was giving her a second chance. She was hoping the Christmas present was a sort of beginning peace offering.

Rachel looked over at Quinn's furrowed brow. "Penny for your thoughts."

The smile on Rachel's face made Quinn's heart melt. Looking at it instantly made her want to open up and pour out her heart and soul to Rachel. It made her want to tell her everything – how sorry she was, how she loved spending time with her, how she wanted nothing more than to make her happy for the rest of their lives.

But she couldn't.

Rachel still had Henry and it was his job to make Rachel happy, even though he was doing a pretty poor job at it. Again, the jealousy was starting to boil over. Quinn would be better than he was to Rachel. She would have come home for her. She would have wanted to spend the holidays with her and her fathers. At least, she would have compromised and spent Christmas with her family, if she had a family to spend it with, and come back to Rachel for New Year's.

Quinn looked over at her friend. She couldn't tell Rachel what she was thinking, so she came up with a white lie. "I was just thinking about today and how it was a really fun day, even though your father probably wishes that I hadn't come."

"Oh, don't worry about him. He holds grudges even if they're not his to hold. He's just protective of his Baby Ber, that's all. You should have seen him when Finn and I started dating. I'm pretty sure he followed us on our first date and hid behind bushes to make sure he wasn't going to try anything."

Quinn laughed quietly. She could actually picture Leroy doing that.

"Just give him some time. He'll warm up to you eventually."

"If you say so."

"I do say so! I know my own father. He's got his tough outer exterior, but he's a big softy underneath it all, kind of like you. Trust me, he'll learn to love you if I have to force him to."

Quinn nodded. She walked over to the coffee table and picked up the framed Playbill. _Rent_ was one of Quinn's favorites, too. She rented the movie after it had just gone to DVD and sang along with it all day on repeat. Whenever her father heard her sing the songs, he'd ask her to sing something else – something happier and more upbeat. He never understood why she liked those "faggy musicals". She hated his insensitivity and view on anything that wasn't normal upper class suburbia. The only things he was really ever interested in were Fox News, the stock market, and how her sister Frannie was doing.

Rachel sat on the couch. She picked up the two tickets that were sitting on the table next to the framed Playbill. "You're coming with me, right?"

Quinn looked at Rachel with her doe eyes of hope and expectation.

"Me? I thought you'd want to take Henry."

"Are you crazy? You're the one who got me this present, because you knew how much I loved _Rent_ and I know you love it, too. Of course I'd want to go with you. Henry will understand. Besides, you bought the tickets for January 2nd, and Henry won't even be home yet."

"Oh, right, I forgot about that. Then I guess I'm in."

"Oh, good! I can't wait. I expect you to sing every song with me. We'll show those Broadway guys how it's done."

* * *

><p>The next day, Quinn, Rachel, and her fathers met up for lunch at Arpeggio. They talked about when Rachel's next performance was and asked how Quinn's schoolwork was going. Quinn explained her journalism major and all of her different classes. She explained that she had a big photojournalism project due at the end of the semester and was still thinking of ideas. The aim of the project was to produce a story using photographs. They could be of a person or event and Quinn was hoping that Rachel would help her out. She couldn't think of anyone else who had a better story to tell than her. Being a completely selfless person who never craved attention, Rachel accepted.<p>

"Would you mind if I took pictures of the three of you while we walk around today?"

Leroy looked unamused. "I don't think-oof!" Hiram interrupted his husband with an elbow to the ribs.

"Of course, dear. You take as many as you'd like. We haven't taken many family photos since Rachel's been away at college."

Rachel quickly pulled out her phone and sent a text to Brandon, making sure that Quinn was distracted by her fathers.

R: **Hey, did you get the camera yet?  
><strong>

B: **Yeah, I got it. Didn't you want to wait until New Year's?**

R: **Yep, stick to Operation: New Year's Eve.**

After lunch, the four of them took a walk around Rachel's campus while Quinn snapped away with her camera. She got a shot from behind of Rachel in between her fathers with their arms around each other and various other poses. These would work as the foundation of her photo story. Quinn wasn't sure which direction she was going to take her project, but she knew that as long as she was invested in it and knew it would have some personal meaning, it didn't really matter what grade she got.

Rachel broke away from her fathers and walked alongside Quinn. "Why didn't you tell me you were a photographer?"

Quinn fiddled with her camera, adjusting the settings. "Taking random pictures and one class that requires me to show off my inadequate work hardly makes me a photographer."

"Lemme see; I'll be the judge," Rachel says, reaching out for Quinn's camera. Reluctantly, Quinn handed her camera over to Rachel and nervously watched her sift through all of the photos. Rachel stopped on one particular photo and Quinn heard her let out a small gasp.

"Quinn, this picture is... amazing," she said staring at the camera LCD screen. "You made me look beautiful."

"You are beautiful, baby girl," Leroy said, taking the words right out of Quinn's mouth.

Rachel looked up at her father and smiles. "You're just saying that because you have to, Daddy."

"I'm saying it because it's true," he said as he kissed the top of her head.

The four of them walked around for another hour laughing, talking, and taking pictures until they had to go back to Rachel's apartment to grab their things before heading to the airport. Rachel tried to tell her fathers that they'll take a cab with them, but they insisted that she not "waste her time in traffic".

They all hugged each other goodbye; Even Leroy grabbed Quinn in a big bear hug and whispered into her ear. "You keep her happy and safe. If I receive even one unhappy phone call from her, I'll come after you."

Quinn gulped and nodded silently at the man towering over her and he patted her on the shoulder. After they said their final goodbyes, Rachel sat on her sofa with Quinn's camera and looked at all of the pictures she took again. There was a sadness in her eyes as she flipped through each photo.

"Penny for your thoughts," Quinn said with a half smile.

Rachel smiled with sad eyes and took a breath. "I always feel like part of me leaves with my fathers whenever they go back to Lima. I know I belong here in New York, but I just miss them sometimes. Is that stupid? I mean, I'm supposed to be an adult and not need my parents."

Quinn scooted closer to Rachel. "Of course that's not stupid. They're your family. It's good that you have a family to miss, who misses you just as much."

"Oh, I'm sorry Quinn. I didn't mean-"

Quinn held up a hand to silence Rachel. "No, no, it's okay. I accepted a long time ago that my family and I would never be close. It's just how things ended up, but I'm fine. All of my friends are my family now."

"Even me?" Rachel looks down at one of the photos Hiram took of her and Quinn.

"Especially you. I'm actually kind of grateful that you haven't shut me out of your life like I had expected you to. I mean, after all that I did to you in high school."

Rachel placed a hand on Quinn's knee and it sent waves of heat through her body. Rachel's touches seemed to have that effect.

"You were going through a lot and it's only natural that you'd be angry and lash out at people. I've forgiven you for all of that. It's time for you to forgive yourself, Quinn." Quinn could feel tears welling up in the corner of her eyes, but she brushed them away quickly. She hated crying in front of people and couldn't afford to be vulnerable in front of Rachel. Any moment of weakness could mean she might say more than she was ready for Rachel to hear. Instead, she ran.

"I-I should get going. It's getting late and you probably have some singing shows to critique." Quinn stood up and flattened out her shirt with her hands.

Rachel handed back her camera. "Would you... would you print some of those out for me?"

Quinn nodded as she put the camera back in her case. "Yeah, of course. I'll bring them with me to Brandon's New Year's party." She headed towards the door, needing a quick escape.

"Okay. I guess I'll see you there?"

"Yep, see you there." Quinn's answers became short and Rachel wondered if she had said or done something wrong. Not knowing what to do, Rachel just stood in her doorway as she watched Quinn walk down the hallway with her arms wrapped around herself, looking almost as lost as she had their senior year.

* * *

><p>For the next week, Rachel and Quinn hadn't spoken or texted. Rachel was afraid that she had offended Quinn somehow, because she seemed quite upset when she left her apartment. As per usual, Rachel started thinking of apologies and started writing the same text five times, even though she had no idea what she was apologizing for. They usually started as "Not sure what I did, but..." or "Sorry if I upset you..." or "BABY COME BACK...". That last one was more out of frustration than anything. Rachel hated not knowing what was going on. She was usually pretty good at reading people, but not with Quinn. Quinn was a tough nut to crack, but Rachel was going to try to drill through that hardened exterior slowly.<p>

It was New Year's Eve and they were going to Brandon's party together, or at least that was the original plan. Rachel wasn't sure what was going on now and she decided to suck it up and just ask Quinn what was going on. She punched in Quinn's quick-dial button and let it ring four times before the voicemail kicked in.

_Hi, this is Quinn. Sorry I can't take your call, but leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks!_

Rachel cleared her throat. "Hi Quinn, it's Rachel. As you know, Brandon's party is tonight and I just wanted to see what the plan was. Are we still going to share a cab there? If not, can you let me know so I can organize my own transportation? I don't know what I've done to piss you off, but whatever it was, I'm sorry. I-I miss you." Then she hung up quickly. It's only been a week and she missed Quinn. She didn't even really miss Henry all that much. What did that even mean? Rachel pushed the thought out of her head and started looking for something appropriate to wear. She wanted it to be chic, but comfortable and not look like she just came from a 50 Cent video shoot.

On the other side of town, Quinn listened to her voicemail and instantly felt a pang of guilt. Rachel thought she had done something wrong when she hadn't. This was all on Quinn and her insecurities and she didn't know how to deal with them. Not only did Leroy Berry know that she was in love with Rachel, but Hiram had slipped their phone number into her camera case with a note that said '_In case you need any tips. Love, H'. _So, now Hiram knew. She thought it was really awkward that they – well, Hiram, anyway - were being so supportive when Rachel had a boyfriend. She made a mental note to investigate it further, because she was pretty sure that no parent would condone cheating.

Quinn sent Rachel a quick text to confirm that they would go to the party together. She'd hail a cab and meet Rachel at her place and they'd go to Brandon's together.

When Rachel received t he message, she let out a sigh of relief. At least Quinn was speaking to her. She had already showered and gotten dressed and had plenty of time before the party, which wasn't for another five hours. She had some time to kill. Her fathers had given her some holiday money to spend, so she decided to hop on her laptop and do some research and see if there were any accessories she could get for Quinn's camera. Along with money from the old Broadway paraphernalia that she was able to sell (people really would buy anything these days), Rachel had enough to pay Brandon back and maybe get one other thing. From her research, she noted that professional photographers used tripods, lenses, external flashes, remotes for the shutter, and a whole heap of other things. Rachel had no idea what doohickey did what. It was like a foreign language.

She huffed back into her chair in frustration when she spotted something on her laptop screen that caught her eye. It was a digital picture frame that scrolled through various pictures like a slideshow. It was perfect. Rachel looked up a camera shop nearby and raced out of her apartment to get Quinn's second present. In her hand was the picture frame that had the picture of their glee club that she was hoping she could get scanned and put into the frame before she gave it to Quinn.

By the time she got back to her apartment, she had just enough time to wrap the frame and put some finishing touches on her make-up. Just as she was about to sit down and flip on the television, her phone buzzed.

**Hey, I'm outside. Come down whenever you're ready.**

Rachel picked up her shoulder bag that had the frame in it and keys and headed downstairs. Quinn was standing in front of the taxi with the door open. She was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a baby blue loose-fitting shirt. It was casual, but still made her look stunning. Rachel was wearing a long black skirt and a shiny silver shirt that lay just below her sternum. When Quinn saw her, her breath got caught in her throat and watched as Rachel walk towards her.

"You look, uh, really... nice." Quinn could feel her face flush and her hands started getting clammy. _Nice? That's the best you could come up with? _

"Thanks, so do you. Shall we?" Rachel gestured towards the open taxi door. Quinn climbed into the back seat first and Rachel followed. Quinn gave the cabbie Brandon's address and then sat back into the seat. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Rachel broke the silence.

"Hey Quinn, about the other night, I'm sorry if I upset you somehow. I didn't mean to bring up anything painful."

Quinn held up a hand to stop Rachel. "No, it wasn't you. I'm sorry I kind of bailed and went MIA. I just get really self-conscious when I think about high school and how I treated people. It makes me so ashamed of the person I was."

"Seriously, if I've forgiven you, anyone else will. I have a wardrobe full of red, blue, and purple stained shirts."

Quinn scrunched her nose and looked out the window. "You know, I kept the prom queen tiara you gave to me. It's on my dresser in my apartment."

"Really? You kept that?"

"Yeah, it reminds me that I was given a second chance once and I need to remember that everyone deserves one." Quinn smiled shyly at Rachel.

Quinn remembered that night clearly. After Puck had dropped her off at home, she ran up to her room and threw her jacket on her bed. She cursed herself for getting so worked up over Rachel and Finn. When Rachel had brought Quinn the tiara, that was the exact moment that she fell for the girl. She remembered being angry with herself for having those feelings. Her family and church had told her it was a sin all her life. TV shows and movies rarely addressed the issue an when they did, it was always unrealistic. Girl meets girl, girl falls for girl, girl gets girl and they live happily ever after. Like it was that easy.

She suppressed her feelings for the next few years, ignoring them if possible. There were attractive women in her classes, but Quinn had no idea how to deal with any of her feelings, and none of them were Rachel. So, she concentrated on her schoolwork and her job. She chose journalism as a major – emphasis on photojournalism, because she loved being able to tell a story without words. Judy would subscribe to Time magazine and National Geographic and ten-year-old Quinn would take them and cut out some of the pictures and dream about travelling around to take photographs. She hoped that she would eventually find the time and money to do that after she graduated.

The taxi pulled up to a brick building with a few people standing outside. Rachel and Quinn left the taxi and walked up to the door buzzer. Quinn pushed the buzzer for unit 3 and an unfamiliar voice answered.

"Yeah?" It was female's voice.

"Oh, hi. It's Quinn and Rachel. Can we get buzzed in?" Quinn was starting to get nervous. She hadn't gone to a proper party since the year before when Ralph had dragged her to his frat's Halloween party. That was a night she wished she could forget. He had tried to kiss her on three different occasions that night – twice while highly intoxicated - and finally got fed up and left.

They heard the door unlock and headed up to Brandon's apartment. Quinn knocked on the door and it swung open. Brandon was standing in front of them with very tacky 2016 glasses on his head.

"My girls! I'm so glad you're here. Come in, come in," he ushered them into the lounge room. "Drinks are in the kitchen, help yourselves. I've also set up a karaoke machine on the back wall. You're going to sing something tonight and I'm not taking no as an answer."

The two girls collectively groaned. Quinn started walking towards the kitchen. "Want something to drink?"

"Trying to get me drunk already, Fabray? I am shocked and appalled!" Rachel said with her hands on her hips.

Quinn's face flushed bright pink. "They have non-alcoholic stuff in there, too, I'm sure." She walked into the kitchen and saw the ice chests full of beer and mixed drinks. "Okay, maybe they don't. There's always water."

"I'm joking, Quinn," Rachel smiled at her awkward friend. She pulled a couple of beers out of an ice chest and tossed one at Quinn. "Oh hey, I'll be right back."

Rachel zipped out of the kitchen to find Brandon. He was sitting on the arm of the sofa, talking to a couple of other guys and a girl that could have been his girlfriend. She tapped Brandon on the shoulder and he looked up at her.

"Hi! Do you have you-know-what for you-know-who?"

It took a few seconds for Brandon to understand Rachel's secret coded language. "Oh, yeah! It's in the bedroom, hang on." Brandon jumped up, handed his drink to his girlfriend and ran into the bedroom. He walked back out with a wrapped present and Rachel took out the digital frame and placed it on top.

"When do you want to give it to her," Brandon asked.

"I don't know. When do you think is a good time?"

Quinn walked up behind Rachel. "Good time for what?" Rachel's head flipped around so fast that Quinn was surprised it hadn't flown off and rolled into the kitchen. Rachel and Brandon looked at each other, then down at the present in Brandon's hands.

"Um, Merry belated Christmas, Q," Brandon said as he offered the present.

Quinn looked at the box curiously. "What is this?"

"Well, that would spoil the surprise of opening it, wouldn't it," Rachel said as she smiled brightly. "Here, sit down."

Rachel guided Quinn to the recliner and sat on the arm of it as Quinn flopped down. She began unwrapping the gift slowly, a little embarrassed that people were starting to gather and watch her. She tore off one of the corners and saw the word 'Canon' on it and gasped.

"You guys didn't..." Quinn held a hand up to her mouth. She finished unwrapping the present and gently dropped the wrapping paper on the floor. In front of her was a brand new Canon 5D Mark III staring back at her. Quinn looked up at Rachel and then at Brandon, tears welling up in her eyes. "How-how did you pay for this? This camera is so expensive."

"We managed," Brandon said with a shrug and a very content look on his face. "Open the other one, no idea what that one is."

Quinn looked at the flat present. She untied the ribbon that Rachel had knotted up and tore off the reindeer paper. She wiped a stray tear from her eye as she put the box in her lap. Opening one of the flaps of the box, she pulled out the frame and looked for the 'on' switch. She flipped the switch at the frame came to life, the picture of the glee club shining back at her and she lost it. Tears started streaming down her face and she looked at a blurry Rachel, who placed a hand on her shoulder.

Quinn stood up and grabbed Rachel into a hug, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl's neck. She whispered into Rachel's ear. "I don't deserve any of this, but thank you."

Rachel reciprocated the hug and squeezed. "You're welcome and you do deserve it. Enjoy it, Q."

Operation: New Year's Eve, a.k.a. Make Quinn Cry Tears of Joy was a success.

The two girls felt another person join in the hug and they both looked at the intruder. Brandon smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I felt left out." Quinn and Rachel put their arms around Brandon while his girlfriend looked unamused a few feet away. Being able to feel her glare pierce through his skull, Brandon went back to stand with his girlfriend.

Rachel bounced up and down. "Open it up! Try it out!"

Quinn opened up the camera box and affixed the lens to the camera body with a satisfying click. She placed the battery in the slot and turned the camera on. Rachel struck a pose and Quinn snapped away then joined her, arms extended in front of their faces, and took a picture of the two of them together.

Suddenly remembering something, Quinn shuffled through her bag and took out an envelope and handed it to Rachel. "I almost forgot about these."

Rachel opened the envelope and pulled out the digital prints of the photos of her and her fathers. She looked at them, her smile growing bigger and bigger with each one. "These are so amazing. Thank you, Quinn," she said as she gave Quinn another quick hug.

Brandon walked back over to the girls. "Hey, you two still need to sing a duet. Don't forget."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "I'm going to need to be way more drunk if you expect me to sing in front of all these people."

"I can arrange that," Brandon replied as he ducked in to the kitchen to mix more drinks. He came back with two glasses and handed them to the girls.

"I think your girlfriend is getting a little jealous. I can feel the heat coming from her scary laser eyes," Rachel said as she accepted the drink.

Brandon looked behind him. "Oh, she's harmless. I'll introduce you after I've gotten a few more drinks into her. She'll be fine."

Quinn and Rachel looked at each other, sipped their drinks, and shrugged.

* * *

><p>As the night went on, Quinn and Rachel conversed with all of Brandon's friends, discussed politics and majors, and much more alcohol was consumed. Rachel stumbled around the apartment, hanging onto Quinn's arm and Quinn, who was significantly less intoxicated than Rachel, supported her weight while the brunette discussed Idina Menzel's vast Broadway career and how her biological mother could be her twin.<p>

"No, I'm ssssuper serious, you guys. Idina Menzel and my birth mother could be sisters. They look exactically alike each other. I mean, Idina's voice is incom-incompara... crazy good, but my mom... sheesh, you'd definitely see where my talent comes from."

Quinn just smiled at Rachel, who was incredibly amusing when she was drunk. Of course, she already knew that from their occasional parties during high school, but it had been a while.

A few of Brandon's friends were using the karaoke machine and Rachel noticed. "Quinnnnnnnnnn! Let's sing somethin' together! D'you 'member how well your voice harmony-izes with mine?"

Quinn patted Rachel's forearm. "Yeah, Rach, I remember." Before she could say anything else, Rachel tugged on Quinn's arm and took her to the karaoke machine. She snatched the microphone out of someone's hand and started belting out whatever song had just started playing at the time.

_I trade my soul for a wish  
>Pennies and dimes for a kiss<br>I wasn't looking for this  
>But now you're in my way<em>

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing to listen to Rachel, who was trying to coerce Quinn to come up with her, sing into the cordless microphone. Quinn was laughing and covering her face with her hand. Rachel walked towards Quinn and grabbed her hand, taking a microphone out of another person's hand and shoving it into Quinn's.

_Hey, I just met you and this is crazy  
>But here's my number<br>So, call me, maybe_

The girls finished off the song and everyone who had been watching applauded and cheered for them. A few of them yelled out "encore". Rachel sifted through Brandon's CDs and found one that she liked. She placed it into the karaoke machine and chose the right track. The song began playing and Rachel beamed at Quinn and the other onlookers. Quinn recognized the song immediately and her smile turned into a deer-in-headlights-what-the-hell-is-Rachel-doing face. Rachel started the song off:

_Live in my house  
>I'll be your shelter<br>Just pay me back  
>With one thousand kisses<br>Be my lover - I'll cover you_

All that Quinn could think was how inappropriate and strange this was, but Rachel was completely dee-runk, so hopefully she wouldn't remember any of it. In fact, she was counting on Rachel not remembering the second half of the night at all. Quinn wasn't sure how she'd explain why Rachel's tailbone was sore in the morning after she tried to do a keg stand and fell right on her ass.

_With a thousand sweet kisses  
>I'll cover you (When you're worn out and tired)<br>With a thousand sweet kisses  
>I'll cover you (When your heart has expired)<em>

After they finished the song, Brandon walked up to them with a giant grin on his face. "You guys, that was incredible! I thought your duet in the bar was great, but wow."

Rachel gave a small curtsey, almost tripping over herself, and Quinn couldn't stop smiling. Even if Rachel didn't remember, Quinn still would and that was enough for her. Quinn looked at her watch and it was 60 seconds until midnight. Everyone started gathering around the television to watch the ball drop, drinks in hand. Quinn and Rachel were standing next to each other, near the back of the crowd. Ryan Seacrest was still hosting the countdown. Quinn was so glad she had that tattoo removed. Getting it was the worst. Idea. Ever. Couldn't she have gotten something cool like a zombie Hello Kitty or a even a zombie Ryan Seacrest?

The room started counting down with the television. Quinn looked over at Rachel who was counting down with the rest of crowd.

5... _What if I kissed her?_

4... _Wait, no, boyfriend. Straight as an arrow. Remember? _

3... _What if it's just on the cheek?_

2... _What if she remembers and thinks I was taking advantage of her in her drunken state? Lawsuit, ahoy!_

1... _What if - why is Rachel looking at me like that?_

Everyone in the room screamed 'Happy New Year', popped their poppers, tooted their horns, but Rachel looked right into Quinn's eyes, and kissed her. Quinn froze, not knowing what to do, where to put her hands, what to think, and when she finally figured out what was happening, Rachel stepped back and just looked into her eyes. She looked at Quinn almost as if she had waited her whole life to do that, like she was relieved.

"Rachel, I don't..." Quinn said as she fidgeted with her glass.

Rachel shook her head and grabbed Quinn's hand. "Quinn, don't talk. Tonight, we're here together. Let's just be, okay?"

Now, Quinn _really_ hoped that Rachel didn't remember any of this. Rachel kept holding Quinn's hand and leaned her head on the taller girl's shoulder, ignoring the buzzing coming from her jacket pocket. Her fathers and Henry had sent her text messages, saying Happy New Year, saying they loved her and to be safe. Rachel didn't care. She could feel something emerging within her and she wasn't sure if it could be contained, or even if she'd remember it in the morning, but it didn't matter. Then, in that moment, Rachel wasn't thinking about anyone but Quinn.

And Quinn was scared shitless.

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><p><strong>Songs referenced in this chapter:<strong>  
>"Baby, Come Back" by Player<br>"Call Me, Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen  
>"I'll Cover You" by the Cast of <em>Rent<em>


	9. Say Yes

Woo! Sorry for the delay, folks. This chapter isn't even that long. I've been working on another story, as well, and I'm still struggling with this one and the direction I want to take it. Oh, and, very little editing has been done, so I apologize in advance. Happy reading!

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><p>They want you or they don't<br>Say yes  
>I'm in love with the world through the eyes of a girl<br>Who's still around the morning after

- Elliott Smith, "Say Yes"

Rachel woke up the next morning with a massive headache and, for some reason, her tailbone hurt. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and - wait, was she naked? Where the hell were her clothes and whose bed was this? Where was she? Had Quinn let her drunkenly stumble home with some strange boy and sleep with him? Fear started to set in and Rachel wrapped the sheet around her body, frantically looking for her clothes and bag. They were nowhere to be found.

The sound of footsteps came through the hallway. Rachel looked for some kind of weapon, but all she could find was an alarm clock, a stuffed dog, and tiara. Wait, what?

A knock came from the other side of the door and Rachel gripped the alarm clock until her knuckles turned white.

"Who-who is it? I have a blunt object in my hands a-and very good aim."

A soft voice came from the other side. "Rachel, it's just me. I washed your clothes; I'll leave them outside the door."

Quinn _washed_ her clothes? Did she vomit on them? Did someone else vomit on them? Hang on, did Quinn see her naked? Rachel cracked the door open and snatched up her clothes. She got dressed and walked out of the room that she assumed was Quinn's.

Peeking into the lounge room, she spotted Quinn on the couch drinking coffee. She hoped to Barbra that she hadn't done anything stupid. Only snippets of the previous night were saved in her memory bank, but it was like swish cheese and was completely unnerving.

Quinn turned around and greeted Rachel with a big smile. "Morning, sunshine!"

Rachel grumbled and flopped onto the couch next to Quinn, taking Quinn's cup off of the table and holding it up to her mouth. "This doesn't have milk in it, does it?"

Quinn shook her head, "Soy, in case you stole it like you just did." That earned a smirk.

They sat and watched the morning news. The anchors were talking about the various New Year's celebrations and that reminded Rachel of her nudist escapades.

"I, um, did I... what happened last night?"

Quinn's lips started tingling as she remembered the night before, but she played dumb. "What do you mean?"

"Well, why did you need to wash my clothes? Did I vomit all over them? I hope not, because that's one of my favorite shirts and it would be completely embarrassing to do something like that in front of people. Oh my God, you didn't have to hold my hair back, did you? I'm so sorry, Quinn."

Quinn just laughed and shook her head. "No, Rachel, you didn't throw up on anyone or anything. Although, there was a fountain across the street that must have looked inviting, because you jumped right in it, got soaked, and ran around flapping your arms and singing. You said you were doing your songbird impression," Rachel's face flushed. She knew she got out of control when she drank.

"Then I just brought you back to my apartment since it was closer and you threw off your clothes in my living room, saying that it was stifling your artistic expression and passed out on my bed."

Rachel looked horrified, almost like someone just told her that Rebecca Black had a better voice than she did. "Well," she replied, trying to think of some way to lessen her embarrassment and was failing horribly. "At least I didn't go home with a random stranger, right? _That_ would have been hard to explain to Henry."

Quinn nodded slowly, wondering how Rachel would explain kissing her female friend at a New Year's Party if he ever found out about that. She couldn't get the thought out of her head. She knew it didn't mean anything, considering Rachel couldn't even remember stripping in front of her the night before, but kissing Rachel Berry was pretty damn memorable for Quinn.

"So," Rachel said while finishing the coffee, "What's the plan for today, other than nursing my hangover?"

Quinn looked at Rachel and shrugged. "Anything you want."

Eyeing the camera sitting on the coffee table, Rachel exclaimed, "Let's go take pictures with your new camera! But, um, I smell like Henry's old gym socks. Mind if I use your shower?"

Ignoring the fact that Rachel would be naked in her apartment _twice_ within 24-hours, Quinn nodded. She was trying not to think about it too much, because she didn't want to have to take a cold shower after Rachel.

"The towels are in the closet next to the bathroom."

Rachel opened the linen closet and picked a light blue towel. "Oh, um, could I borrow some clothes, too? I didn't exactly dress for comfort last night."

"Yeah, of course. I'll be right back." Quinn walked into her room and pulled out a pair of comfy jeans and the New York City t-shirt they had worn during their "Empire State of Mind" group number. She hoped it wouldn't be too lame to wear a New York shirt while you were in New York. She also pulled out a NYU hoodie and some thermals since it was freezing outside.

Quinn could hear the shower water running and did her best to suppress any inappropriate thoughts. It was more difficult than Quinn thought it would be. Even though she hadn't seen much of Rachel's body the night before - mostly because she didn't want to take advantage of Rachel or embarrass her - she couldn't help but imagine what it would have felt like to slide in next to her and just sleep with their body warmth being shared between them.

She shook the thought out of her mind once more and lay the clothes out in front of the door. _Rachel is your straight friend, who has a boyfriend that she loves. Just because she's naked in your bathroom, it doesn't mean that her intoxicating beauty has to distract you from the thought that she's so, very, heterosexual. Painfully heterosexual. Unfairly heterosexual. With a boyfriend. Boy. Friend. _

Quinn sighed at herself and walked over to the coffee table. She picked up her camera, took out the memory card and placed it into one of the card reader slots of her laptop. She clicked through various folders until she found the one with the pictures from the camera.

While going through the ones from New Year's, one of the photos stood out. It wasn't one that Quinn had taken herself, so she assumed Brandon or one of his friends had picked it up. Quinn's eyes practically popped out of her head when it registered what it was a picture of: Quinn and Rachel kissing at midnight. She quickly removed the photos from her memory card and stored them in a hidden folder just as Rachel opened the bathroom door to pick up the clothes that Quinn had laid out for her.

"Thanks for the clothes, Quinn!" she yelled out. "Hey, this t-shirt looks familiar."

"I thought you might like that," Quinn replied without turning around. If someone had taken that picture of the two of them, then that meant someone else had seen them. This wasn't good at all. She quickly took out her phone and texted Brandon.

Q: **Hey, thanks again for last night. We had a great time.**

B: **I'm sure you did. ;)** **Glad you made it home safely.**

What the hell did that comment and the winky face mean? She hated the winky face. Did Brandon see them? Was he the one who took their picture? Quinn needed to find out, but she would have to wait until she was alone.

Rachel walked out of the bathroom wearing Quinn's jeans and navy blue NYU hoodie. Quinn felt a sense of pride seeing Rachel in her clothing. After transferring all of the photos off of her memory card, she placed it back into the camera and stood up, facing Rachel.

"Ready to go?" said Quinn as she started putting on her jacket and beanie.

"Ready as ever," replied Rachel excitedly as she put on her own jacket and scarf.

The two of them left the apartment, camera in tow, in search of adventure and amazing photo opportunities. It was New York, after all; even the pigeons were photogenic. They walked for a couple of hours, stopping sporadically when Quinn found something to take a picture of. She would snap pictures of buildings, monuments, churches, random snapshots of Rachel.

They stopped at a café to grab some coffee and found a bench outside to sit on and rest their feet. Quinn had no idea how to start a conversation with Rachel. The past two days had been... interesting. Rachel snuggled up close to Quinn to keep warm and they went through the photos that Quinn took. To break the awkward silence, Quinn said the first thing that popped into her mind.

"So, are you excited about Henry coming back?"

_Really? You're asking about her boyfriend? You're going to be alone forever at this rate._

Rachel smiled shyly. "Yeah, of course I am. I'm thinking about cooking his favorite meal when he gets back."

"Oh?" Quinn asked inquisitively. She couldn't imagine that Henry would eat vegan food that Rachel made. "What's his favorite meal?"

"He loves rib eye, so I was thinking I'd cook that with some veggies and mashed potatoes as sides." Rachel looked so pleased with herself and Quinn recognized this look. It was her dutiful housewife persona and she was the same way when she and Finn were together. It made Quinn feel sick to her stomach to see Rachel so obedient and... tame. This wasn't the Rachel she knew who sent her competition to abandoned crack houses or fought for every solo known to man and, you know, sung by men.

Considering Rachel was a vegan, just the mere fact that she would cook a giant steak for her boyfriend was unsettling, but what was more unsettling was that Henry allowed her to do things like that. Quinn would never ask Rachel to cook her meat.

"When is he getting in?"

"Tomorrow before the show, so I was going to cook Henry's dinner and meet you so we could grab something to eat. If you want to, that is."

Quinn raised her eyebrow. "I thought you said he wasn't going to be home in time for the show, so you were taking me instead."

Rachel blushed and looked at her fidgety hands. "Truth is, I just wanted to go with you. Henry thinks _Rent_ is overdone and hyped up." Quinn gasped and clutched at her chest like she was having a heart attack.

"He just doesn't understand good theatre!"

"Yeah, he's a bit of a snob," Rachel said giggling. "Anyway, it's freezing. Let's find someplace toasty to go."

The girls got up and started walking in no particular direction. They ended up on the New York University. Quinn showed Rachel all of the buildings where her classes were and they stopped at one of the halls that was having a movie night. Rachel stopped outside of the giant lecture hall and immediately recognized the film.

"Oh my gosh, they're watching _Funny Girl_! Can we go in and watch?" Rachel asked with pleading eyes.

"Sure," Quinn said as she smiled back. They walked into the hall and there weren't many people there, so they found seats easily in the darkened room. The girls found two seats in the middle section of the hall and sat down next to each other.

They had gotten there just in time for "Don't Rain on My Parade" and Rachel watched her idol with such intensity and mouthed all of the words. Quinn watched her out of the corner of her eye. Rachel was flailing and gesturing while she lip synced.

_Heeeeere I ammmmm..._

Once the movie ended, Rachel sat and watched the credits and Quinn waited patiently. Rachel had a big goofy grin on her face and Quinn knew that she had gotten more brownie points. When they stood up to leave, Rachel grabbed Quinn's arm. She looked up into Quinn's eyes and said, "Thank you."

Quinn smiled back and nodded. "Come on, there's one more place I want to show you." Quinn leads Rachel to a 5-story brick building. They walk up two flights of stairs and into a room with photographs everywhere. Rachel breathed in and looked around in awe.

"This is incredible. Are these yours?"

"Some of them. These ones are," Quinn said pointing to the back wall. Black and white photographs covered every inch of the wall - some of buildings, some of strangers, some of Rachel. "This is where I'm putting my project together. I've printed out the digital prints of Broadway and the photos I took with you and your dads."

Rachel stood in front of the wall in awe, took in all of the photographs, and traced her fingers along Broadway billboards and her fathers' faces.

"You're like the Barbra Streisand of photography."

Quinn smiled and her face flushed. "Hardly. I'm more like the Nickleback of photography." Rachel scrunched her nose and shook her head. "Give yourself more credit. These are great photos, Quinn."

Knowing that she wouldn't win this argument, Quinn conceded and nodded in agreement.

"I think that's enough ego boosting for today. Are you ready to go?"

"Whenever you are," Rachel grinned. She hadn't felt this comfortable hanging out with anyone before and it was strange for her. For the first time in her life, she had a best friend who didn't just tolerate her presence – Quinn actually wanted to spend time with her and that felt amazing.

They headed back to Quinn's apartment to relax and Quinn began going through all of her photos on the laptop. Quinn never really had anyone support her hobbies the way that Rachel did, so it was really exciting to be able to share her photographs with someone. Rachel sat in the chair near the desk as Quinn sat on her haunches in front of the laptop, flipping through each photo. Every so often, Rachel would gasp and point at one of the pictures on the laptop screen and say how good it was, and Quinn had to frame it for Rachel so she could hang it up in her apartment.

The girls spent the rest of the afternoon together, watching movies and random TV shows on the couch. Rachel had fallen asleep on Quinn's lap and had her legs curled up on the other half of the couch. It took an immense amount of willpower not to rake her hands through Rachel's hair. She could smell her shampoo wafting from Rachel and it was making Quinn feel drunk all over again. Quinn didn't want to wake Rachel, but her legs were falling asleep and her bladder was being unruly.

Quinn gently shook Rachel awake. "Hey Rach, it's getting late. Want me to call you a cab?"

Slowly, Rachel sat up and rubbed the back of her head and then her eyes. Quinn thought she looked so adorable when she was groggy. She was going to make it a point to wake her up often.

"Is it okay if I stay here again? I know I live close by, but I'm just so -," she yawned, "so sleepy."

Quinn could feel her heart exploding into a thousand pieces in her chest. She was going to have to duct tape it back together if she was able to find all of the pieces.

"Of course you can. Go ahead and take my bed; I'll sleep out here."

Rachel shook her head furiously. "Don't be silly. I'm not kicking you out of your bed again, we can share."

Quinn's eyes glazed over and she was pretty sure she started shaking and drooling all over herself. Rachel stood up and started walking towards the bedroom while Quinn remained sitting, trying not to psyche herself out.

_Boyfriend, she has one. It's just two friends, sharing a bed. Don't make it weird._

Finally, after minutes of convincing herself, Quinn stood up and walked to her room. Rachel had already changed into some of Quinn's clothes and was under the sheets. She looked so comfortable and content. Quinn walked to her dresser, removed some clothes, and walked to the bathroom. She was about to close the door when Rachel sleepily called out, "I used your toothbrush, hope you don't mind."

Smiling to herself, Quin replied, "It's okay, we'll get you your own toothbrush if this is going to become a regular thing." She told herself it wouldn't happen as often once Henry came home, but the thought of Rachel having her own toothbrush in her apartment almost made her feel complete, like everything was fitting into place. Quinn climbed into the bed next to Rachel and made sure she didn't accidentally brush against her and held the blankets up to her chin. Rachel was facing the opposite side and slowly shifted over onto her back. Her head turned to face Quinn.

"Thanks for today. I almost forgot what it was like to have someone to hang out with where I didn't have to be on my guard all of the time. Everyone in Juilliard is out for themselves and you have to be really careful. I mean, some of them are genuinely nice, but you can never know. They might just be lulling you into a false sense of security before they steal your solo right from under you."

Quinn smiled at Rachel's paranoia; she really hadn't changed much since high school and that's something that Quinn admired about her. "Anytime, Rach. I really like spending time with you. Whenever I hang out with co-workers, it's always out in some loud, grungy bar or a crowded restaurant. Today was really nice."

Rachel smiled and scooted closer to Quinn, close enough to feel the body heat pulsing off of one another. "I had a good time, too." Quinn could feel Rachel's lips ghosting near her cheek and her warm breath flutter across her skin. She held her breath, not wanting to make any sudden movements or accidentally grab Rachel's breast that was a mere four inches away.

Both girls felt themselves drifting off to sleep, the hum of the apartment's heater making sweet mechanical music just for the two of them. Even though Henry was coming back the next day, Quinn was content knowing that then, in that moment, she was sharing a bed with Rachel – sharing the same air, the same blankets, and their lives were fused together as friends, which was all she really ever hoped for. The last thing Quinn saw that night was Rachel, asleep beside her, with the tiniest hint of a smile across her face, and that was all Quinn needed to send herself off into peaceful oblivion.


End file.
